Sun NY
by Kayla2
Summary: When Sonny returns to Carly after his night with Alexis, Alexis distracts herself with one of Llanview's most notorious citizens: Todd Manning. Sexis and Texis? LOL Written in 2004.
1. Chapter 1

SUN-N.Y. - 1

The green light of the alarm clock blared: 5:57 a.m. Once again, Alexis awoke before the familiar buzz could wake her, nervous anticipation acting as its substitute. She sprang out of bed and hopped into the shower, although her meeting was not for another two hours.

A month ago, she would have thought the craziest thing she would have ever done, was sleep with Sonny, her client and her friend. Just as she predicted, it had ruined everything. Honestly, she knew what had ruined everything; it was the return of his not-dead-ex-wife that and her own fear.

Watching Sonny leave felt like a punch in the gut. She had pushed him out of the door as much as he left on his own volition. There was nothing else she could do. There could never have been an "us" in the context of she and Sonny, thus, she had to send him where he had a chance of finding even a small bit of happiness...back to Carly.

What she couldn't have expected was to find her own bit of joy, in her work. More specifically in her new client. As much as she hated to admit it, working for Sonny gave her a rush. Considering his reputation, her newest client could give Sonny a run for the money in the getting-into-trouble department.

****

Once again, Sonny found himself at Alexis's door. Although his body had reconciled with Carly's, his heart remained with Alexis. Not that it mattered; Alexis had made it clear that she didn't want him. How many Harvard lawyers wanted a glorified street-thug? Once before, she had all but admitted he was tainted.

He rang the doorbell then began to run his hands through his hair, smoothing curls that had yet to fall out of place. When Kristina appeared, he sheepishly smiled as he tried his best to emphasize his dimples…his fallback.

"Hi, um, Kristina, is Alexis home?"

Kristina looked at this man, a pillar of the organized crime community. Somehow he was smart enough to run a territory but too blind to manage his own heart. Perhaps, she thought, he simply needed a push.

"Oh, hi Sonny. Alexis ran out of here the first thing this morning. She had to meet with someone."

"Oh," Sonny replied sadly. "Do you when she'll be back?"

Kristina went in for the kill. "No, probably not until late. She's been spending a lot of time with this guy." She smiled, innocently.

Sonny managed to grumble, "Thanks," before he headed to the elevator. After noticing that Kristina continued to stare, he plastered a fake smile on his face and gave her a hearty wave before the doors closed. No sooner than he stood alone in the elevator, he slammed his fist against the door and whispered, "Damn."

****

Alexis stood at the door of the make shift office of her newest client. She had to admire his chutzpah. He had managed to purchase one of the last available buildings on the docks without anyone, including Sonny or Jax finding out who he was.

Tentatively, she pushed the door open. Only to be greeted by his barking, "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come in here and help me?"

Alexis straightened her body, put on her best poker face and closed the door behind her. "Do I have to remind you that moving boxes is not in my contract?"

"I know, I know," he replied hastily. "I pay you to help me get my paper up and running." With a walk that reeked of attitude and bravado, he made his way to her. "O.K., I gotta come up with a new name for the Port Charles edition of my paper. Since my paper back home is called The Sun, I was thinking of calling this one Sun...N.Y. or Sunny. You get it, it's kind of a play on words involving Port Charles most famous resident."

Alexis stood gaping at his gall. In town three weeks and already he was ready to make powerful enemies, of course, what else would she expect from Todd Manning.


	2. Chapter 2

_So, I just got my old computer out of storage and I found this story on my hard drive. The Todd I pictured when I wrote this was Roger Howarth's incarnation. I'll try to post the chapters as quickly as possible. I know the story is old, even still I'd love it if you replied and let me know what you think of it._

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 2

Sonny walked quietly along the docks, Johnny at his side. He felt tired as if life was draining him. His responsibilities hadn't changed in the last month, just his fervor for handling them. Often times when he was with Alexis, he felt as though he was walking on clouds. Now, it felt as though bricks rested on each shoulder. Sonny sat on the bench near the pier. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the water.

The sound did not comfort him as he expected it, but it haunted him instead. The water reminded him of Puerto Rico and Alexis. They had been happy there. He could smell the gardenia in her hair as he did when she allowed him to hold her close. He could feel the jaggedness of her breathing, a combination of fear and attraction. Why hadn't she gone back with him on Valentine's Day when he asked? If she had, maybe things would be different. Together, there on that magical island, they would have had time to become familiar with their feelings...in private. Together, there, they could have decided to face the world.

So deep in his thoughts, Sonny did not hear Benny approach until he sat next to him. Of course, with Johnny standing nearby and with Max shadowing them, he had no real reason to be startled.

"You wanted to see me, boss?" Benny inquired in his think East Coast accent.

"Yeah." Sonny opened his eyes for the first time, snapping back to reality. "I need you to get me some information."

"Anything."

"Alexis has a new client and I need to know who it is." Sonny placed both hands on his face then eased them back to his hair.

"You got a name for this client?"

"No. I need you to put a couple of men on her and find out where she goes almost every day. I want to know who this guy she's seeing is."

Benny shook his head disgustedly. He had seen Alexis angry. "She ain't going to like it, Boss. You know Miss Davis."

"I don't want her to know."

"Right. I'll be in touch." Benny stood, shook Sonny's hand then left, silently praying that Sonny was coming to his senses about his romantic choices.

************************

Todd's voice chimed with glee, pleased with his own cleverness. "You get it. Sun New York, Sun N.Y., Sunny, you know like Sonny Corinthos." He leaned his shoulders back and poked his chest out like a robin.

Alexis shook her head at Todd, half-smiling half disgusted. "You know...," she started. "I can't believe...," another failed attempt at chastisement.

"What?" Todd asked, completely serious.

"Well, Mr. Manning, I am completely aware of your reputation as a bully, but in this town you better be careful who you pick on."

"I'm not afraid of the Diminutive Don, the mini-mobster..." Todd began to chuckle to himself.

Alexis yelled, "Mr. Manning, I'm serious."

"Fine." Todd's mood was deflated as he plopped into the leather chair behind his desk. "You know, you're too serious, just like Nora Gannon, except your legs are longer."

Alexis would have mistaken this for a compliment had she thought Todd was capable of giving one. Still she was unable to hide the tiniest of smiles that was forcing its way through. What was it about Todd Manning that intrigued her? He was as dangerous as Sonny, maybe worse, more like Stavros but he had a heart that was deeply hidden....kind of like the Grinch. Unlike Stavros and Sonny, he was not the least bit refined. Todd was obnoxious, arrogant and downright rude. But yet, something in his pale green eyes reminded her of a wounded animal, one that struck out to keep from being hurt again. Just like Sonny and Stefan and even her...Todd was a survivor. It took one to know one. Too bad only God and Todd knew exactly what it was he had survived.

"Oh and stop it with the Mr. Manning stuff, it makes you sound like my teacher and I don't do well with authority figures."

"Look, _Todd_," Alexis paused for dramatic effect. "Sonny is a former client of mine, if he shoots you and you survive, it could create all kinds of conflict of interest in any resulting civil suit."

Todd began to laugh, loudly. Nervous energy took over propelling him to pace as he spoke. "Wow. You're good, you got all the angles covered. I can't wait to see how you destroy the employee union. Right now, why don't you give me all the dirt you've got on the malevolent miscreant?"

"What did you just call him?"

Todd stopped pacing before he answered. "Malevolent miscreant, fancy name for bad criminal. One of his many nicknames in the Sun."

"I know what a malevolent miscreant is, I'm just surprised that you do, too." Alexis shook her head disgustedly. "Anyway, as a former client, Sonny is off limits as a topic between you and me." Instinctively, she folded her arms protectively in front of her body, which did not go unnoticed to Todd.

"Fine," Todd snapped pacing once again, stopping occasionally to dig in a box of papers. "So, I guess that means you're not going to tell me why you two were doing the horizontal mambo or why you stopped?"


	3. Chapter 3

**SUN N.Y. – Chapter 3**

Alexis stood dumbfounded. Todd repeated his question, "You're really not going to tell me why you and the mobster are no longer doing the horizontal mambo?"

"I'm outta here." Alexis shoved a few papers back into her briefcase. With a dramatic turn, she headed to the door. Maybe the turn was a little too dramatic because her head began to spin. To stop herself from falling, she placed a hand against the door.

Todd raced over to the door where Alexis leaned but stopped just of before he got to her. "Hey, you sick or something?"

Alexis simply shook her head. "No," she mumbled, afraid that if she spoke, the contents of her stomach would erupt. "I think I need to sit down."

"This is just great. The first edition of SUN N.Y. comes out in less than two weeks and my lawyer is wigging out on me."

"Relax Todd." Alexis said flatly. "I just haven't had any breakfast."

"No problem, I have a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich right here." Todd raced to his desk then back to Alexis. He waved the partially-eaten sandwich in front of her.

Alexis closed her eyes and did her best to keep last night's dinner down. She pushed Todd's hand away. "I don't want any," she managed to squeeze out.

"I only bit off one side." Alexis simply kept her hand up and her eyes closed. "Suit yourself." Todd took a bite of the sandwich that had gotten cold, wrinkled his nose and threw it in the trash. "You're right. This sucks. Where can I find a decent cheeseburger in this town?"

"Kelly's, but I didn't think you wanted anyone to know you were here."

"The paper is almost up and running. Besides it's time for me meet the people of Port Charles and pick out who gets to be SUN N.Y.'s first cover story."

Sonny sat quietly at a table near Kelly's front door. He stared into space while Carly talked about redecorating the Penthouse...again. For someone who dropped out of design school, she sure liked to rearrange his home. He missed the conversations with Alexis about their childhoods or about what he should do now that Courtney and A.J. were married…the important stuff. Now he felt trapped, although until Benny came up with more information he would just have to wait. He dared not ask himself exactly what he was waiting for.

Bobbie's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hi Sonny. Hi sweetheart."

"Hey," he mumbled.

"Hi Momma."

"What's wrong with Sonny?"

"He's just in a mood. Do you want to see the new designs for the Penthouse?"

"Sure."

"I'll be right back," Carly chimed and gleefully went toward the back of Kelly's with Bobbie.

Frankly, Sonny was glad for the temporary silence. Maybe he was in a mood. Alexis would say he was brooding. Alexis. Sonny ran his hands through his hair and let out a sigh. When he looked up, he couldn't believe his eyes. Alexis was walking through the door....with Todd Manning.


	4. Chapter 4

SUN N.Y. - 4

Alexis and Todd sat down at the table near Sonny. It wasn't because she wanted to make Sonny jealous. It was just safer to sit near the door because when dining with Todd Manning you never knew when you might have to make a speedy exit. Alexis learned that on her first visit to Llanview a few weeks earlier. Besides with Todd's eating habits, the center of the room was not where you wanted to be.

"Can I bring you something Alexis? " Elizabeth, asked cheerily.

" Dry toast and chamomile tea, please?"

"And for your friend?"

"Yeah, I want a cheeseburger with everything on it, a side of fries, a side of onion rings, and a coke."

Elizabeth began to walk away, when Todd called her back, "Hey whaddya got for dessert?"

Confusion written on Elizabeth's face, she replied slowly, "Key Lime Pie, Chocolate cake, and N.Y. Cheesecake."

"Yeah."

"Yeah?" Elizabeth stood frozen.

"Hello, yeah as in I'm hungry. Are you slow or something?" Todd rolled his eyes as Elizabeth walked away in awe.

"You know, you'd get a lot farther with people if you tried to be a little nicer to them."

"I'm nice to you."

"You'd better be." Sonny's voice surprised both Todd and Alexis. Neither had seen him walk up.

Todd began to act as excited as a kid in an amusement park. Purposely overdoing it, he bounced up and down and clapped his hands. "Wow. This is big. I mean wow. A real live mobster at my very own table. Oh boy. Oh boy."

"Todd." Alexis cautioned.

"Sonny," he continued. "Do you think I can call you Sonny? You've helped me sell so many papers, I feel like were old pals..."

A very annoyed Sonny, simply rolled his eyes. "'Lexis, can I talk to you?"

"Can we do it later? I'm in the middle of something right now. "

"With Todd Manning? Are you crazy? Tell me you aren't representing him."

"What I can tell you is that this is none of your business." Alexis stood and took two steps from the table. Instinctively, Sonny followed. They spoke in hushed voices, still loud enough for Todd to hear.

"From what I know about this guy, he is bad news. What do you know about him?"

"Probably more than you do. And if I remember correctly, everyone said the same thing about you when I took you on as a client. You're not the only one in the world who deserves a second chance." Todd couldn't help smiling when he heard Alexis defend him, though he realized it was because she didn't know him that well.

As Sonny was about to reply, he was interrupted by the shrill sound of Carly's voice. "You witch. You'll do anything to get Sonny's attention. Even show up in Kelly's with the likes of him." Carly positioned one hand on her hip and used the other to point at Todd.

Alexis glanced at Todd who was trying very hard to look disinterested, too hard. She attempted to whisper, "This is not the time or place. Sonny and I were just trying to have a simple conversation."

"There is no Sonny and I where you're concerned, he's back in my bed, Alexis. I hope you enjoyed him while you could."

"Carly," Sonny said, curtly. His voice was loud enough for some of the patrons to look in their direction. "Enough."

Todd hopped up quickly and stood near Alexis. He looked at Carly as if he recognized her from somewhere. "Carly Corinthos?"

"Yeah?"

"I thought that was you. I got a call earlier. Rent-A-Bimbo was looking for you, a teenage boy wants boy wants you for the prom."

"You know what?" Carly said, crossed her arms before her. "I know who you are. You may have a lot of money but, you're half the man Sonny is." She turned to spit her venom at Alexis, "How long will it take before Todd's in your bed Alexis?"

"Let's go Carly." Sonny said, noticing that Alexis looked a little green. Sonny looked at Todd in the most menacing way possible, " Manning, you better not hurt Alexis."

"Why would I? You've got your arm around someone who's already doing the trick. Oh wait, that's not right; you're doing the trick. Is that a pun?" He turned and asked Alexis. Sonny grabbed Carly's arm and began to pull her toward the door.

Alexis pulled out a chair, sat down and rested her head on the table. She was interrupted by Elizabeth and the smell of food. No sooner than Elizabeth set Alexis's plate down, Alexis pushed it slightly away from her. She looked up at Todd who was looking back at her curiously. "You shouldn't provoke them."

"You should have decked her."

"It wouldn't have solved anything."

Todd began to inhale his cheeseburger in a way that made Alexis marvel "She's a real piece of work," he said, stuffing a French Fry in his mouth at the same time. "I thought she died a month ago."

"She showed up at her own funeral." Alexis sipped a bit of her tea.

"That had to be disappointing." Todd said without a smirk.

Despite herself Alexis began to chuckle. Todd chuckled too.

"So, where was she?" He devoured another quarter of a sandwich.

"No one knows."

"I think I found SUNNY's premier cover story. " A smile crossed his face.

Alexis sighed, "I wish you would just leave Sonny and his family out of the paper."

"Hey, your contract doesn't give you creative control on my stories. .. thanks, though, for...you know, sticking up for me."

"Back at you." Alexis said with a half smile.

"I can't believe she went crazy on you just for talking to the Don."

"She's like that." Before she could stop herself, she stole a French fry from Todd's plate.

Todd leaned back in his chair as if deep in thought. He sprang forward and he was about to speak then stopped.

"What?" her voice inquired quietly.

"If Carly went bananas because she saw you talking to Sonny, what is she going to do when she finds out the Don knocked you up?"


	5. Chapter 5

SUN N.Y. - 5

Alexis awoke at dawn. She had to. It was very important that she learn the fate of her future while Kristina was out jogging. "I am not pregnant. Todd doesn't know what he is talking about." She mumbled to the First Response pregnancy test she held in her hand. "Now all I have to do is let you prove it to me. This is bad, I'm talking to a stick."

Alexis doubted her own words. It had been nearly a week since Todd put the suggestion in her head at Kelly's. She had gone about the problem the usual way: denial. However, Auntie Flow had failed to make her monthly trip and now, Alexis was terrified. She looked at the clock, 3 minutes and 36 seconds before she could tell Todd where to put his pregnancy comment.

RING. RING. RING. RING. A repetitive slew of rings came from the doorbell. It was Todd; no one else had such charm. Alexis rolled her eyes and started downstairs toward the door, still holding the First Response in her hand. She yelled through the door, "What do you want Todd?"

"I need to talk to you about something important."

"I'm busy." Alexis yelled again. She looked at her watch, 2 minutes and 3 seconds before she would know.

"It will only take a second."

Alexis looked around for some place to hide the test. She quickly opened the desk drawer, slid the test inside. BAM. The drawer closed too loudly. "Dammit," she whispered. Moving quickly to the door, she opened it just a crack. With his lithe body, Todd slid in easily.

"I didn't invite you in." Alexis said flatly. She glanced nervously at the desk.

"You were going to," Todd quipped. He pulled an apple from his pocket and began to crunch on it loudly. "You don't look busy."

"What. Do. You. Want. Todd?" Without realizing it, she looked to the desk once more.

"SUN N.Y. premiers Monday morning. I need you to go with me to the Launch party tomorrow night."

Alexis crossed her arms, rolled her eyes and sighed. "This is not a part of my job description. I'm an attorney, not an escort service. Do you usually make requests like this of your attorneys?"

"Yeah, I got the last one to marry me."

"Then take her."

"I can't; she divorced me."

"Didn't I read you had a wife somewhere?"

"Yeah, she divorced me, too."

"Must be because you're so loveable." Alexis deadpanned.

Todd took another bite of his apple and swallowed. "Something like that." As he chuckled, he began to cough.

Alexis moved closer to him. "Todd, are you okay?" She began to pat his back which seemed to alleviate the coughing. "Can I get you something?"

"Water." Todd managed to squeeze out. He sat in the chair near the desk and bent his body in half, his elbows touching his knees.

Alexis disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later to find Todd sitting up straight. "Are you OK?" she asked, concern brimming in her voice.

"Yeah, are you?" Todd replied as though the coughing episode had never happened.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because pregnancy sucks during the first few months." Todd said, a sly smile appearing.

"I told you this before and I'm telling you again. I AM NOT PREGNANT."

With a wave of his hand, Todd produced the pregnancy test that he had lifted from the desk drawer while Alexis got his glass of water. "If you're not pregnant, you owe a dead rabbit an apology."

Alexis's eyes focused on the plus sign that glared at her. Then she walked to the door with every intention to throw Todd out of her apartment. When she reached the door, something in her snapped. "I can't do this," she whispered, then sank to the floor in a heap of sobs.

************

Sonny gazed out of the large bay window in the Penthouse. Thoughts raced through his mind. What could he do to get Alexis away from Todd Manning? In the week since their encounter at Kelly's, he had thought of nothing else. Todd would use Alexis's generous nature against her. He'd use her to get anything he wanted. Funny, Jax had accused him of the same thing no so long ago.

As usual, Candyboy was as clueless. Alexis dumped him, though in his heart Sonny knew he'd only have had to ask her to stay with him. But honestly, she was just too precious for him to lose. Maybe he had even known it when he threw himself in front of an onslaught of bullets to save her.

A knock at the door, gently brought him back to reality. "Come in Benny." Benny walked steadily over to Sonny, a file in his hand. "Let's see it." Sonny's voice was steady and cold.

Benny handed him the folder filled with the history of Todd Manning. Sonny began to read out loud. "Lead the gang rape of Marty Saybrook, Broke out of Statesville prison, terrorized his attorney while she was temporarily blind, held a group captive with fake explosives, most recently lost custody of his kids after attempting to give his son up for adoption without his former wife's consent or knowledge. This guy's a real piece of work."

"There's something else boss. This invitation was on the floor when I walked in."

Sonny opened the orange-colored invitation with a bright smiling Sun on the cover. "Todd Manning cordially invites you to the launch of his latest journalistic endeavor: SUN N.Y....That Son of a..."

"What do you want me to do boss?"

Sonny paced. Alexis would be furious with him if he hurt or sabotaged Manning. He would have to risk it. Alexis's safety had to come first. "Benny, as long as Alexis is around this guy, she's in danger. We have to send Mr. Manning a message…let him know he's not welcome in this town."

"Right boss." After learning what he knew about Todd, Benny had no qualms about getting rid of Manning. "Who do you want on it?"

"Francis and Tony."

"I'm on it." With that Benny disappeared as quickly as he had come.


	6. Chapter 6

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 6

After Todd revealed that Alexis was pregnant, she sat on the floor unable to move. Tears drenched her face. As she wept, Todd became more uncomfortable. "I can't do this," she repeated. "I can't be a mother."

Tentatively, Todd kneeled beside her still holding the pregnancy test. "Hey, what are you freaking out about? Anyone can have a kid; me and Blair proved that." Todd drew his hand inside his sleeve, then used the outside of his sleeve to wipe her face. The result: mascara smeared across Alexis's face and Todd's sleeve. Why was someone like Alexis Davis freaking out about being pregnant? He studied her face, searching for answer.

Alexis surprised herself with her own voice. It was cold and detached. "My mother died when I was 10. I was raised by the woman that slit her throat in front of me. My father, a very powerful man, did not acknowledge me as his own until after his death. Instead, I lived on my family's island, believing that I was an abandoned cousin, until I learned of my heritage as an adult. Now, Mr. Manning do you think I am fit to be a parent?"

"You think that's good. I got one for you. My father knocked up my sister's roommate, my mother,...twice, even though he was still having sex with my sister at the same time. Then, even though he let my mother keep my sister, Tina, he made her give me to her cousin, Peter. "

Todd stood and began to pace. He tossed his head back and laughed awkwardly. "And oh boy was Peter a piece of work. I would try so hard to make him proud and then something would happen and..." Todd's voice trailed off. "Look, even as messed up as I am my kids are great. Jack's just a baby, but Starr's real smart and she's beautiful. He knelt down beside Alexis once more. "My point is. Kids can get through stuff. As bad as you had it or I had it, we survived. Besides, you don't seem like the type to try and kill anyone, in fact, you're kinda nice."

Alexis looked up at Todd, still kneeling before her. A sort of smile registered in her eyes. Then a half-chuckle.

"What?"

Alexis looked at the pregnancy test still in Todd's hand. "I just wonder if you'd be holding onto that test so tightly if you knew what I had to do to get the results."

"Yuuuuuuuuuck," Todd's face contorted into 25 different shapes as he tossed the pregnancy test from his hand. The motion made Alexis laugh even harder. "You know lady you got a sick sense of humor." He plopped down completely on the floor, sliding his back against the door.

She laughed a moment longer, then silence settled. A gentle, comfortable silence. "Hey Todd....do you think you can keep this thing about me being pregnant between you and me?"

"You're pregnant?" Todd feigned shock.

"Thanks." Alexis whispered. And for a moment, she thought everything would be okay.

That was then and this is now. Now, she and Todd stood at what was supposed to be the headquarters for SUN N.Y. After an unusually pleasant lunch, they had stopped by the office to work on the employees' union contracts; they found the place ransacked. Computers had been destroyed, desks overturned, and windows broken. Though neither spoke aloud, both knew who was responsible for the damage: Sonny.

"This is awful." Alexis said stepping over debris. Instinctively, Todd took her arm to ensure she didn't fall. "Todd, the paper is supposed to debut in less than two days. Why are you so calm about this?"

"This is office is a decoy. SunN.Y. is still safe and sound and ready to do damage."

"What else have you been keeping up your sleeve, Todd?"

"Let's see...Bimbo Barbie's whereabouts when she was supposed to be pushing up daisies." Todd opened the desk drawer of an overturned desk, fished out an apple and an orange, and then tossed the apple to Alexis.

"What this for?"

"You're pregnant. You gotta eat for the baby."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "You sound just like...nevermind."

"Hey. Are you going to the launch party with me or not?"

Alexis began to fidget. "I don't think it's such a good idea. I mean you are going after Carly in the first issue. And I used to work for Sonny....and now I work for you...and I don't want to be in the middle of things...."

Todd leaned back and pretended to be mulling over Alexis's words. "That's fine. But if you don't come with me, who knows what Sonny and I might wind up talking about. He may even find out he's going to be a daddy."

She frowned. "What time are you picking me up?"

"Eight."

"Fine." Alexis rolled her eyes and pretended to be angry. She wished she could be, but something about Todd was such a welcome distraction. She grabbed her briefcase and headed for the door.

Seconds later, Todd was on his cell phone, "Yeah Briggs, it's me. I gotta a headline for the second edition of Sunny. 'Corinthos's Kid? No way."


	7. Chapter 7

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 7

Alexis didn't want to be in the middle of things between Todd and Sonny. Things could get ugly and after the the destruction of SunN.Y.'s alleged headquarters they probably would. But as she stood in front of Penthouse 4 , that is exactly where she found herself.

Sonny answered the door. A light came to his eyes when he saw her face. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," she smiled.

"Come in. Come in." Sonny ushered her into the Penthouse. She walked into the scene of the crime, as she thought of it. Everything was different with Michael's toys scattered about. Yet, everything was the same. The table with the dark wood where he first made her dinner remained unmoved. The rose-colored curtains still hung beside the window where he brooded. And the stairs still led to the place where everything between them changed.

"Sonny, I need to talk to you. I know what you did to stop Todd's paper from starting. However, as I'm sure Benny has already informed you, the paper will still debut on Monday."

"Alexis, are you accusing me of something? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?" He smiled, exposing her to a lethal dose of dimples.

"You, my friend, have never been innocent." She flirted, more out of instinct than thought. "Look, I don't want to betray my client's confidence, but it may be in your best interest if you skip the launch party tonight."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that Alexis. I understand you wanted to get my attention by representing Todd Manning...and you have. It drives me crazy that I can't keep you safe because you are hanging around the likes of Manning. But you pushed me out your door as much as I left on my own. I made choices that I have to stand by. So, if you're trying to make me jealous..."

As Alexis tightened her grip around a sofa cushion as she seethed. "Get your attention?!!! Make you jealous???? I swear you are the most arrogant man I have ever met in my life."

A cocky half-smile came over Sonny's face, "Fine, if you aren't trying to get my attention then why are you here, Alexis?"

Alexis stood, " For your information, I was trying to look out for you...."

Sonny leaned forward and smiled. "Like the time you offered to put me to bed?"

Alexis spoke loudly, yet maintained her Cassadine cool. "Fine...I try to keep you from walking into another ambush where your darling wife has once again provided someone with more than enough ammunition to make you look bad and this is the thanks I get. From now on, you're on your own." She walked to the door and opened it. "And by the way, if I'm every trying to get your attention or make you jealous, you'll know it." And with that, she slammed the door.

"KRISTINA!" Alexis yelled as she entered the penthouse. Kristina ran down the stairs, alarmed at her sister's tone.

"What is it Alexis? Are you OK?"

"I need...I need you to make me sexy enough to get a man's attention, to make him jealous even."

Kristina's mouth fell open. She had just hit the cosmic jackpot, Alexis wanted to make Sonny jealous and she needed her help. Alexis didn't say it was Sonny, but who else could it be? She was not about to jeopardize this by asking questions. "Come with me."

Three hours later, Alexis stood tugging at the hem of a strapless, black minidress. Her hair had been allowed to keep its natural wave and fell sexily around her shoulders. Her 4 inch stilettos made her feel like Wonder Woman on her day off.

"Knock it off Alexis," Kristina shouted. "If you keep pulling at the bottom, you'll pop out at the top." Kristina began to laugh.

"Very funny, Kristina. Don't you think you went a bit overboard? The dress, the hair, the shoes?"

"Are you kidding me, you're so hot. If you weren't my sister, I'd want to date you."

Alexis giggled. She was hot. And Sonny was about to pay for his arrogance. Todd arrived to find Alexis waiting for him in the living room. Suddenly, he was very antsy. As he approached her, he attempted to make his observation seem incidental, "Hey, you should wear your hair like that more often."

"Are you flirting with me, Mr. Manning?" Alexis felt confident of her power over him and any man in this dress.

"Nooooo." Todd said, protesting way too much. "I thought I told you to quit calling me Mr. Manning."

"I wish I could, but you blackmailed me into coming with you tonight. If I called you Todd, it might imply that we were friends...and friends don't blackmail friends, Mr. Manning."

"Whatever," he replied, gruffly. They headed out of the door and into the elevator...before they could see that it was already occupied, by Sonny and Carly.


	8. Chapter 8

SUN N.Y.- Chapter 8

Sonny's eyes were not the only thing that bulged at the sight of Alexis in that dress. Carly simply rolled her eyes. Sonny found himself very near Alexis' ear. He leaned in very closely; quite frankly, he didn't care whether Carly was there or not. With seduction in his voice he whispered, "That's a dangerous dress to be wearing considering your client's past criminal history."

Without bating an eyelash, Alexis replied in an equally husky whisper, "That's an interesting observation by an almost married man. But I'm curious as to which client's criminal history are you referring to, Mr. Corinthos."

Sonny dropped his head a boyish smile and a chuckle escaped. He shook his head. This time he made an error. He had done something he had advised others against. He underestimated Alexis Davis.

Carly, annoyed with the attention Alexis was receiving from her soon-to-be-husband-for-the umpteenth- time, suddenly got a look on her face that resembled the cat that ate the canary. "Alexis, did Sonny tell you that he is going to be a father."

Confusion overtook Alexis for obvious reasons.

"I'm pregnant." Carly chimed, gleefully.

Alexis found herself feeling a bit unsteady at the news. She leaned back, unintentionally pressing her body against Todd's. Todd held her in place, by putting his hand near her hip, a gesture not missed by Sonny.

"Alexis, I didn't want you to find out this way." Sonny whispered.

"I'm fine." Alexis managed before the doors opened. Her heart raced and she was sure she would have fallen over if Todd hadn't surprised her by taking her hand.

Thirty minutes later, Alexis and Todd arrived at the SUN N.Y. launch party together, much to the surprise and dismay of most of the town's residents. Ned gave his usual disapproving looks, while Jax, promised he and Alexis would "talk" later. Alexis even spied Luke sharing a few choice words with Todd. It was nice to know he cared. It was nice to know they all cared, especially after learning that Carly was carrying her 'Little One's' brother or sister.

As the evening progressed Alexis wondered out to the balcony. She found herself remembering the last time she was on a balcony...in Puerto Rico, with Sonny.

"What are you thinking about?" Sonny's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"The impossible."

"I find myself thinking about the impossible, too." Sonny sighed. "I keep wishing that I had insisted we go back to Puerto Rico on Valentine's Day. Things might have been different." He released a loud sigh. "By the way, I'm sorry."

Alexis chuckled to keep from shedding a tear. "About Carly. Don't be sorry. You've always wanted a family of your own. Now you have your chance, it makes it all worthwhile."

Sadness filled Sonny's eyes as he nodded. Then, he released a slight smile. "I'm sorry about something else, too."

"What's that?

"I'm sorry I said you were trying to get my attention and make me jealous by representing Todd. You were right, I definitely know when you are trying to get my attention...and wow, you got it lady."

Alexis blushed. Before she could speak, Todd walked onto the balcony. Carly was close on his heels. When he stopped walking, she actually bumped into him. He looked around, purposely not "seeing" Carly behind him. "Do you smell something? Everywhere I go, I've smelled 'ew..the toil...let." He turned to find Carly unamused. "Oh it's just you. Do you buy that stuff by the jug or what?"

"Todd." Alexis chided.

"Right." He poked out his chest and looked at his audience of three. "I'm about to introduce the paper. And I don't think any of you want to miss this one." He took Alexis's hand and gently pulled her behind him.

Sonny and Carly followed Alexis and Todd into the main banquet room. A large red drape hung over a life-sized version of the first issue of SUN N.Y. Todd released Alexis's hand and moved beside the easel. "About a month ago, many of you spent hours searching for a lost loved..." Todd coughed, "one. You thought she was dead and after reading the first edition of SUN N.Y., you're going to wish she was."

With that, Todd pulled the drape to reveal a life-sized photo of Carly pushing her car into the River. A large headline read: Carly's Crash is A Con.


	9. Chapter 9

_I decided to edit and post another one before work this morning. This chapter is one of my favorites. Todd is being Todd, Sonny is being bad Sonny. I hope you enjoy._

**SUN N.Y. – Chapter 9**

Todd watched as the jaws of every citizen of Port Charles dropped. Not a peep was heard until, Luke's laughter began. He strolled to where Carly stood. "Well, niece of mine, looks like someone's finally got your number." He turned to Bobbie who now stood nearby. "Barbara Jean, it's time to face the facts, B.J. was the only daughter you've ever had. Why don't you dump this one and cut your losses?"

Tears began to brim in Carly's eyes. "Mama, you don't understand..."

Bobbie's eyes became bigger, water filling them as she prepared to speak. Her voice cracked when she spoke. "I understand perfectly Carly. B.J. died in an accident. You let me think I lost you the same way. You let Michael think you were dead..."

"No mama, I didn't." Carly shook her head fervently, astonished that her mother could think she would be so cruel. " I came back to see Michael. I love that boy, you know that."

"I don't know anything," Bobby stated flatly. "Not even you." With that she and Luke exited.

Zander looked at Carly. A single tear fell down his cheek. Alexis placed her hand on his shoulder, a small attempt at comforting him. "I used to think to myself, "Sonny is crazy," he started, nearly overcome. "He's got this great woman who wants to be with him and he's too busy being angry. I was wrong, so wrong, and so stupid." He turned to Alexis, "I'm so sorry...I hope it's not too late for you." Zander walked off.

Alexis shook off an uncomfortable chill at the exposure of her relationship with Sonny, even if only implied. Carly on the other hand, shook uncontrollably, tears flooding her face.

A.J. took his turn next. "Carly, you are unbelievable. You know that? There's no way you're going to keep Michael from me now."

Todd bounced over to A.J. "Wasn't that the plan?".

A.J. scowled at Todd, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Todd whipped out an advance copy of SUN N.Y., awkwardly unfolding the pages. "Yeah, yeah...here it is, on page two." He pointed to a specific paragraph. "The former, soon to be Mrs. Corinthos could not be found after her swim with the fishes because she was out of the country stashed in a cosy Irish Inn, courtesy of one A.J. Quartermaine. That's you, right?"

"You can't prove a thing."

"Hey, do you want to see something cool? We've got little pictures of your credit card receipts. Right here. Isn't it cool how even though they're small you can still read the name on the receipts? Don't worry. I blocked out the account number so that no one scam you."

A.J. attempted to snatch the paper from Todd's hands. Todd quickly pulled it away from him. "Hey, you can get your own copy when it goes on sale tomorrow. I got circulation numbers to keep up."

A.J. left in a huff with Edward on his heels complaining that he was a screw-up. A teary eyed Courtney followed close behind with Mike. One by one the residents of Port Charles left. Each one was more dismayed than the next until only Sonny, Carly, Todd and Alexis remained.

Alexis turned to Sonny, sadness in her eyes at the loss of his dream of a family. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, protecting her little one from the ugliness of the night. "Sonny, " she whispered.

His rage blinded him. Without a word, he struck Todd in the jaw, knocking him to the floor. Sonny was angry. Angry that Carly had duped him again. She knew how he lost Lily and the baby. She knew Brenda died in a car crash. He was angry about Carly's deliberate cruelty. Angry that he had given up his chance at a fresh start with Alexis. Angry that Todd had exposed him for the fool he had been to the entire world. And with each revelation of anger came a kick. First to Todd's side, then to his stomach, then to his head. Sonny was out of control.

After what seemed like an eternity, he heard Alexis and Carly's screams to stop. He couldn't help himself, though, not until Alexis got in between them. "Sonny! Leave him alone. Please don't do this." She pled as much for Sonny as she did Todd.

Todd sat up. He coughed a mixture of blood and saliva. Alexis pulled out a handkerchief and tended to Todd's wounds. All the while, Todd wore a peculiar smile on his face.

"This is only the beginning Manning...you get in my face again. You'll need more than your lawyer to save you." Sonny glared at Alexis, then turned to leave. Carly went to place her hand on Sonny's arm only to have him jerk it away. He exited with Carly treading on his heels.

Alexis helped Todd to his feet. "Are you crazy? I've told you Sonny is dangerous and you get in his face anyway?" Alexis noticed the grin on Todd's face. "What are you so happy about?"

Todd stood in the middle of the ballroom floor. Suddenly, he began jumping up and down like a child. "I did it!!! I did it!!!! I did it!!!!" He yelled. Almost immediately, he felt the impact of his injuries, causing him to crumple back on the floor.

Alexis rejoined him at his side, then shook her head in disgust.

"What?" he practically yelled.

"I'm just trying to figure out why you're celebrating. Are you proud of the number of people you hurt tonight? Glad you were able to walk right into to Port Charles and leave carnage in your path? Do you know how badly Sonny has wanted a family. He was so close to having that with Carly and the baby and all and now you go and take it all away?"

Todd pulled out a chair and plopped down at Alexis' table. "Relax Alex. Anybody ever tell you you're a buzz kill? You can stop worrying about Sonny. You're right. He's got a baby on the way. You would know that better than anyone. But Carly's ain't his."


	10. Chapter 10

_Hi all, I hope I'm not posting these faster than you can read them. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy._

**SUN N.Y. – Chapter 10**

Sonny walked into the penthouse with Carly quick on his heels.

"Sonny, I can explain. Don't do this. Remember the baby. We've got everything we want now. Don't throw it all away."

"How am I supposed to trust you, Carly?" He picked up a glass and threw it in the opposite direction. He ran his hands over his face before he spoke softly, "Do you know what I gave up for you?"

Carly shook her head in disgust, then sat on the sofa. "Don't you mean who you gave up, Sonny? And yeah, I'm perfectly aware of who you were with. I saw you with Alexis in our bed, remember?"

"You saw me with Alexis and you decided to make me pay, right? So, you went to my worst enemy...A.J... and the two of you plotted your revenge. Well, it worked. I've been paying everyday since I let you back into my life."

"It wasn't like that!" Carly yelled. Nervous energy propelled her to her feet. She moved close to where Sonny stood, but she was careful not to touch him. Now, she spoke softly, "When I left here I was devastated. You actually told Alexis that you were glad you survived the shoot-out because it gave you the chance to be with her…not me, not Michael, but her. Do you know what that felt like? You were my husband."

"You had been accusing me and Alexis of sleeping together for months." Sonny stared into the distance. "Besides we were divorced."

"But you promised me you would love me forever." Carly reached her hand out to touch Sonny's face but he pulled away. "And I always thought you were a man of your word. I saw you with Alexis, the way you looked at her and the way you touched her and it hurt. I went to Zander and he turned me away. I was confused and angry. I drove fast and I hit the railing. My front tire went over the side. And hit me how I could make you hurt. So, I put my car in neutral and pushed it over the edge."

"Then you went to A.J.?" Sonny ran his hands through his hair.

"No, he conveniently ran into me."

"What did you have to promise to get him to help you?"

Carly chuckled at the thought. "Hurting you was enough. Or so I thought. He put me on the ELQ jet, that's why your men couldn't find me. He promised me that he would take care of everything. The body that was found, everything. He promised me that I didn't owe him anything. It wasn't until I got back that he started to blackmail me with the picture of me pushing my car in the lake. He was using the pictures to blackmail me into letting him spend time with Michael."

Sonny simply nodded. "Unbelievable. You would trade your own child to hide your lies." Sonny stood and began to walk to the door.

Carly screamed behind him, "Don't do this Sonny, please." He gave no reply. He simply walked through the door and closed it behind him. Carly leaned into a pillow and began to cry. After a moment, she reached a shaky hand to the phone and dialed. "It's me. I need to get out of here."

Alexis followed Todd into bedroom of his hotel suite. "If Sonny's not the father of Carly's baby, who is?"

"Why are you here?" Todd asked. He was annoyed that Alexis was in his very personal space. To say he had intimacy issues was an understatement. And for Todd, nothing was more intimate than his bedroom. He plopped in a chair near the side of the bed and began to remove his shoes. He grimaced with every move.

"As I told you, I'm not leaving until I find out. I am your attorney. I can't tell anyone what you tell me in confidence anyway. So, I don't have to wait until the news hits the stands to find out what you know. And I'm not leaving until I know you're okay; you really should have gone to the hospital. I don't want you dying in your sleep to be on my conscience."

"Do you take a breath between words? It's like blah, blah, blah…"

"Spill it Manning." She crossed her hands over her chest. "A.J. was here the whole time Carly was missing. So, who was she with? Who's the father of her baby?" She sat on the bed across from Todd's chair.

"Are you always such a nag? No wonder Sonny fired you."

"Sonny didn't fire me, I quit, which is exactly what I'm going to do if you don't tell me who the father is."

"Whatever. Come on Alex." Todd laughed.

"Don't call me, Alex." Alexis snapped.

"Do you want to know or not?" Todd snapped back. Alexis simply rolled her eyes. "Who's closest to Sonny? Who would go to the ends of the earth to find Sonny's dead wife that he himself was rumored to be attracted to? AJ might have sent her to Ireland, but it was his brother that convinced her to come back, if you know what I mean by 'convinced.'" Todd began to chuckle.

"Jason?"

"Yep. Robothug." Todd smiled. He was always proud of himself when he came up with a new nickname for someone.

Alexis covered her mouth shock. She rose and walked toward the chair. "You don't plan on printing this do you?"

"What do you think? Duh?"

She kneeled beside his chair. "Todd, you can't do this to Sonny. You can't make him lose his child and his best friend on the same day."

He hopped up and immediately felt the pain in his ribs. "Why should I care about Sonny?"

"Would you want someone to treat you this way?"

"Oh no, you can't make me feel guilty. Especially not about the guy who just kicked the crap outta me. Besides, I'm not the one who's keeping his kid from him." Todd began to take off his tuxedo jacket. He grimaced in pain from Sonny's kicks. Instinctively, Alexis stood up and helped him with his jacket. As soon as it was off Todd scooted away from her. This time she sat in the chair.

"Don't start, Todd." Alexis took a deep sigh. "I realize that you have no reason to care about Sonny. But, please don't do this to Sonny, he's lost so much. Don't you know how dangerous it will be if the families find out that Jason, his head henchman, betrayed him? It will be dangerous for everyone...Sonny, Carly, Michael, even me."

"Wow. Henchman? You really are a bona fide mouthpiece."

"I'm serious Todd, I don't know what this will do to him. I'm begging you." Tears began to stream down her face.

"Hey, that's not fair, turning on the waterworks."

"Please, Todd." She swatted at the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She hated being this emotional…especially about Sonny.

"Fine. Hand me the phone."

Alexis grabbed his cell phone from his tuxedo pocket and handed it to Todd. He quickly dialed the familiar number. "Briggs, it's me. Kill the identity of the father of Carly's baby. I know the story is finished, but you've got 24 hours to fix it." Todd hung up the phone. "Happy."

"Very." Alexis fought off a yawn..

"You better get some sleep...for the baby." Todd walked to a dresser drawer, pulled out a T-shirt and smelled it. He made a face, shrugged then tossed it to her. "Here this is clean enough."

"I can't go to sleep." She fought off another yawn. "I came here to make sure you didn't die in your sleep."

"Tell you what, Alex. If I die, I'll come back and wake you up." With that Todd was out of the door.


	11. Chapter 11

_And the plot thickens. _

**SUN N.Y. – Chapter 11**

Sonny lifted his head off of his desk at the warehouse. Somehow, he had managed to sleep in his desk chair. He stood and smoothed his crumpled tux then twisted his neck from side to side in an attempt to will a cramp away. He opened the door of his office to find the first edition of SUN N.Y. waiting for him. It's headlines blared: Carly's Crash Is a Con.

Sonny shook his head. Honestly, he had been conning Carly almost as much as she had conned him. She was right. Her words echoed in his head, "You promised me you would love me forever...I saw you with Alexis, the way you looked at her and the way you touched her." He knew what it was that Carly couldn't bring herself to say. Why should she be any different than he or Alexis?

"I'm in love with her," he whispered. Finally, he closed his eyes and allowed Alexis into his mind.

_"What are you thinking about?" His own voice questioned. _

_"The impossible." Alexis' voice echoed in his mind. _

"If only...." he whispered aloud. Sonny twirled the gold band he had returned to his finger a few weeks before in anticipation of his remarriage to Carly. He gently slipped it off and returned it to the place it had occupied in his drawer. Sonny picked up the phone and called Benny. "I need you to bring me a change of clothes. I think it's time Todd Manning and I have a talk."

As Sonny was making his plans, Todd was watching Alexis sleep. To him, she was like an angel. Her features screamed that she had been born into money. By all appearances they were night and day. Underneath the surface, they were the same. At least they had been the same, mistreated, rejected, and abused. They were same but different still. She occasionally allowed some people, i.e. Sonny and Carly, to treat her badly, while he had been bound and determined to crush people before they could crush him.

"What are you doing?" Her voice interrupted his thoughts. She was surprised to find a fully-dressed Todd staring at her. She blinked her eyes, willing herself awake.

Todd began to fidget. He made several faces as he attempted to come up with a reason for being in such close proximity. "Well, you were snoring so loudly..."

"I don't snore." Alexis said, flatly. Using her elbows she pushed herself up to a sitting position.

Todd chuckled. "Yeah Alex, you do. It was so loud I thought maybe a bug flew up your nose or something."

Alexis laughed. "Right." She continued to laugh. It was all she could do. "Todd Manning, I already know your secret. You pretend to be so big and tough, but deep down you're just a softy."

"Whatever." Todd began to pace, his hands in his pockets. "You know, when I heard you snoring so loud, I figured you were probably in here drooling all over everything too. So I had to make sure you didn't ruin the pillow cases and the mattress."

"That's the lamest thing I've ever heard. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." She winked at him before she stared at him for a full minute. "I decided that you were right. I should tell Sonny about the baby. He has a right to know, maybe it will soften the blow when he finds out Carly's baby isn't his."

"I knew Sonny was your kid's father." Todd shot up like he was a lightening bolt. "Wow. Mobster knocks up Mouthpiece. This is going to be a great headline." Todd raced back to the chair, picked up the phone and began to dial.

"You wouldn't do that." Alexis said, giving him a dimpled smile.

"Why not?"

"Because you like me," she grinned. Dramatically, Todd rolled his eyes. Alexis chuckled, "Not that way, you idiot, but like friends."

"Whatever." After a few seconds, Todd began to speak into the phone. "Briggs, this one is huge. How does this grab you: Mobster Knocks Up Mouthpiece...."

Immediately, Alexis stood and snatched the phone from Todd only to hear a recorded voice speak, "The time is now 9:23 a.m." She slammed the phone down and pretended to pout. "Jerk."

"Hey, friends play jokes on friends, right?" Todd began to laugh.

"I am not and have never been your friend, Mr. Manning, and at this rate I don't plan on being your friend anytime in the near future." Alexis fought off a smile. Todd continued to laugh, so hard in fact that he didn't see Alexis blast him with the pillow.

"Very funny, Alex." Todd took the pillow and tossed it back at her lightly.

"Don't call me Alex." Alexis yelled.

Todd mimicked her, mouthing the words, "Don't call me Alex." He stood and began to walk to the door.

"Where are you going?" For the first time in nearly 6 weeks, Alexis was having fun and she wasn't pleased to learn it was going to end.

"To order room service, 'cause if that kid's got an appetite anything like yours, she's hungry enough to eat a horse." Todd slipped through the door just in time to avoid being hit by another pillow.

Todd headed downstairs and made several phone calls. The first was to Starr and Jack, the same as he did every morning. Then he phoned room service. Finally, he called Briggs to get an update on the 'Who's The Daddy' story. Todd was pleasantly surprised to learn that the rewrite was complete and was being sent over.

The doorbell rang. To Todd's surprise, he opened the door to find Sonny standing before him. "What do you want?" Todd attempted to close the door in Sonny's face. Sonny blocked the door with his hand.

"We need to talk." Though uninvited, Sonny walked inside.

"Call my lawyer. You should actually go find my lawyer and thank her, if it wasn't for her, you'd be wearing an Armani jumpsuit." Todd walked back to the door, hoping to get rid of Sonny before Alexis made an appearance.

"I got a few questions and I need some answers."

"Fine, but then I gotta get to the office. Barbie, I mean Carly is keeping me busy with plenty of stories." Todd walked back to a desk which sat near the door and plopped himself on top of it. "Go ahead, shoot...Oh wait, I forgot who I was talking to, don't shoot..."

Sonny interrupted Todd mid-sentence. "Where did you get the information about Carly?"

"I spent a lot of time in Ireland. I have sources there." The doorbell rang. Todd answered the door and signed for a package from a messenger.

"And the stuff on A.J."

"You know as well as I do that people can be bought."

"What else?" Todd asked impatiently.

"Is Carly's baby mine?" Sonny could not believe that he had been reduced to asking a stranger a question that should remain private between a man and a woman. The trouble was that the stranger was more likely to be honest than Carly.

"Here find out for yourself." Todd handed Sonny the paper. Sonny read the details gathered from stolen medical records, eyewitness accounts of Carly with an unidentified man, and off-the record conversations with nurses and lab technicians. He was not the father of Carly's baby. Sonny felt crushed for a moment, once again he had been denied the chance to have a child of his own. But just as quickly as the sadness had come, he began to feel free. Carly was not pregnant with his child. He did not have to marry her. He could be with Alexis.

"Thanks. I won't bother you again." Sonny turned and began to walk out of the door until he heard _her_ voice.

"Todd. Where's the food?" Alexis called out. "The baby's starving," she giggled, "I guess you're right, she does have an appetite like her mother." She walked down the stairs wearing only Todd's T-shirt, which came to her knees. It wasn't until she reached the bottom that she saw Sonny standing in the doorway...staring.


	12. Chapter 12

_Okay, last one for tonight. I hope you enjoy. BTW, I know it seems like Sonny is being cruel in this one, but he's just hurt. And he always strikes out when he's hurt._

**SUN N.Y. – Chapter 12**

Sonny stood dumbfounded. Alexis was coming from Todd Manning's bedroom wearing his shirt, and nothing else that Sonny could see. And she was talking about a baby. Her baby? Her baby with Manning?

Alexis froze when she saw Sonny standing there. She watched as his face changed from what had seemed to be an almost pleasant look to a look of confusion to sheer anger.

"Alexis?" Sonny managed.

Alexis took a deep breath. "This isn't what it looks like. I just woke up...I "

Sonny became very cool. He chuckled though nothing was funny. A smile crossed his face. "It's really none of my business. You obviously are closer to your _client_ than I thought."

"You're right it's not any of your business, but this isn't what it looks like." Alexis' words were calm and steady. "If you'll wait a minute, I'm going to get dressed and then we can talk about it. "

Sonny smiled. He pulled up the chair near Todd's desk, never once taking his eyes off Alexis. "No need to change Alexis, I'm sure we've both seen you in less." He flashed his dimples.

Alexis steeled herself. Anger brimmed in her eyes. She turned and headed toward Sonny. Todd reached Sonny before she did. "Hey Corinthos, I think you better check on your dead-soon-to-be-remarried-pregnant-by-your-best..."

"Todd," Alexis cut him off. "I can handle this. Will you excuse Sonny and me for minute?"

"Right. I'm going to call Briggs about tomorrow's cover story." Todd interjected. "Sonny, I take it you have no comment?"

Sonny rolled his eyes.

"That's what I thought." Todd skipped the steps and headed to his bedroom. He never arrived there though, instead he stopped around the corner and began eavesdropping.

Alexis noticed the paper near the desk. The headline," Corinthos' Kid? Not." in bright red letters. "I take it you've seen this?"

Sonny simply nodded.

Alexis sighed. "I was really hoping I could talk to you before you saw this. There are a lot of things we need to discuss."

Sonny's face hardened and his eyes were as cold as steel. "I guess you and Todd got a good laugh."

"No one's laughing Sonny...I just found out and I was going to tell you, but...."

"But you had other things to take care of." Sonny looked at Alexis from head to toe implying much without saying a word. "You know, it's kind of ironic. You and Manning tell the world that my family is some kind of joke then you come here and play house. Do you help him think of ways to hurt me, Alexis? Is this all a game to you?"

Alexis folded her arms around her body. "If you would let me get a word in, I can explain the whole thing."

"I just have one question first."

Alexis sighed. "Fine."

"Do you have sex with all of your clients or just the ones that pay well?"

Alexis' hand came crashing to Sonny's face. "Get out." Instead of leaving, Sonny closed the space between them. Alexis could feel his breath against her skin. "Tell me Alexis, when you're in bed with him at night, do you think of me?" Sonny lifted his hand and ran a single finger along Alexis' face. "When he touches your body, do you wish his hands were mine?" Sonny licked his lips. "I only wish I had found out earlier that the woman underneath all those high class business suits was really a low class...."

Alexis was still shaking when Todd flew down the stairs. He stepped between the two. "Hey Corinthos, I got another headline for you. Mob Boss Missing, Foul play Suspected."

Sonny moved toe to toe with Todd. He leaned to the side and looked at Alexis. "You may want to tell your client what happens to people who cross me."

Todd leaned back and laughed. "I already know, you marry them." Todd walked to the door and opened it, "And really, you're not my type. So, Tony Soprano if you're done... "

Sonny turned to leave. "Let me give you a warning, Alexis. If your _client_ gets in my face again, I might forget that you and I are friends."

Alexis steeled herself. "And let me promise you, if you touch him, I guarantee that I will remember that I am a Cassadine. Now get out."

Sonny turned and left. Todd slammed the door behind him. By this time, Alexis had found her way to the sofa. She buried her hands in her head. Adrenaline over took Todd as he began to pace so fast he practically bounced. "Whoa, Alex can you pick them or what? What a loser."

"He's not a loser." Alexis' voice cracked as she replied. "He's just hurt. He lost everything he thought was important to him within 24 hours. I guess maybe I did too." As tears began to stream down her face, Alexis made vain attempts to wipe her eyes. Todd plopped on the couch beside her.

"What's the big deal about that guy anyway?" Todd searched for Alexis' eyes. "I bet he buys his suits off the rack."

Alexis chuckled at the thought of Sonny's reaction to Todd's comment. "You don't know him like I do or thought I did."

"I know he makes you sad." Todd gently moved a strand of hair from her face. "Hey, look at this." Todd stuck his tongue out, pulled at the sides of his mouth, and stretched his eyes.

A half-smile crossed Alexis' face. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, it always works when Starr is sad."

Alexis brought her hand to Todd's cheek and touched it gently. For what seemed to be the first time, she really looked at him. She allowed her finger to trace the outline of the scar on his cheek.

Todd inched back slightly. "Don't."

"If it bothers you," she said softly, "why don't you have it removed?"

Todd dropped his head, no one had ever asked the most obvious question. "It reminds me of who I was and who I don't want to be."

Alexis touched his scar once again then allowed her lips to gently touch his. Todd did not move away, but instead responded with a soft, chaste kiss. Then another and another. Soon their kisses intensified. Their tongues danced an intimate tango. Alexis ran her hands beneath his shirt and allowed her fingers to linger on the soft, fine hair near his belly button. Her hands returned to the hem of his shirt. As she prepared to remove it, Todd pulled away.

"Todd," she says, "It's OK I've seen scars before and if this helps make you who you are then I think it's beautiful. " She moved carefully, not wanting to jar him, then kissed him where the scar was etched on his face.

Todd stood and backed away from the couch. Alexis noticed that he seemed afraid. Suddenly, all his bravado was gone. "I don't want to hurt you or the baby."

"Then don't walk away."

Todd looked at Alexis, then turned to the door and reached for the door handle. Very simply, he locked the door and turned back to the couch. As he walked to the place where Alexis lay, he lifted his shirt and tossed it on the floor. Without a word, he sat beside her then brought his mouth crashing to hers. And soon the lines between attorney and client became very blurred.

***********

Sonny entered the Penthouse. He was angry at the world. Most of all he was angry with himself. If he had made the right choice, if he had decided to fight for what he had with Alexis, even when she wasn't willing, she might be sharing his bed and not Manning's. She might be carrying his child and not Manning's. Sonny gripped a glass of Scotch and downed it quickly. He set the glass on the bar before knocking the entire contents of the bar to the floor.

"When you get done, we need to talk." From the shadows, Sonny heard a voice, Jason's.

Sonny began to laugh. "What do you want to talk about Jason? How you helped my Carly fake her own death or how you got her pregnant?"


	13. Chapter 13

**SUN N.Y.-Chapter 13**

Once again, Todd sat next to the bed, fully dressed, watching Alexis as she slept. As she fluttered her eyes open, he smiled. He leaned back in his chair. "You were snoring again. So, I brought you up here. I didn't want the hotel manager--"

"Concierge."

"Whatever. I didn't want him throwing me out because of your snoring."

"I don't snore."

"Right. Anyway, I called Moonbeam and she brought some clothes over for you to wear."

"Moonbeam?" Alexis began to process Todd's comment. "You mean my sister? She knows what happened? The whole town must know by now."

"She did. But relax Alex, I told her that you came over here to make sure I was OK after what happened at the party last night and that you fell asleep on the couch. She bought it; in fact, she said you've been sleeping a lot lately. I told her not to worry that you were just pregnant."

"You did what??!!! Alexis sat straight up and the covers fell down to her waist exposing more than her temper. She quickly pulled the bed sheet to her. Todd began to laugh so hard that he clinched his sides in pain. "Very funny."

Alexis knew that Todd, in his way, was attempting to make things more comfortable for her by making everything appear to be back to normal. It only served to remind her of the morning she had spent with Sonny after they had made love. She spoke hesitantly, "Let's not pretend that nothing has changed and that this won't affect our working relationship. Okay?"

"Duh, I've seen you naked. Everything has changed. And now we gotta act all weird around each other for awhile until we forget about or at least pretend to forget about what happened."

This time Alexis sat up, carefully pulling the sheet around her as she rose. "So, you agree with me that this was a bad idea?"

Todd stood up and began stroll around the room. "I don't know. See, it was a bad idea when I decided to dress like Patrick Thornhart and blow up a yacht... OK forget about that one. A bad idea was when I used paper towel rolls to make everyone think I had dynam...OK bad example."

"Todd??!!!" Alexis yelled to stop rambling that was worthy of her own. "I need you to know that I don't do this with just anyone."

"Do what?"

Alexis looked down. "Have sex."

"If it makes you feel better. I didn't even do this with my last wife."

Alexis tilted her head. "You and Tea, never slept together?"

"Nope. Not the entire time we were married." Todd focused on a hangnail in order to keep from looking Alexis in the eye.

Alexis thought of the night they'd spent together. "But why? You once told me you loved Tea."

"Yeah, but she had all these expectations about who she wanted me to be. I didn't want to hurt her. Trust me; I've hurt a lot of people."

"What was different with Blair?"

"Blair was as big of a screw-up as I am. So, I didn't have to worry about hurting her."

"And now, the million dollar question: Why could you…be with me?"

"Because I knew you were just trying to get over the Don."

Alexis's heart sank. "Todd, I never meant to use you."

"Use me?" Todd laughed loudly. "You're the only person in this town who would even believe that's possible."

She touched his face. "It's too late, Sunshine. I already know you have feelings just like everyone else."

Todd dramatically shook off an imaginary chill. He began to pace. "Aw, now don't go getting all mushy on me."

"Fine," Alexis pulled the sheet around herself more tightly. She averted her eyes from Todd's. "Can we just agree to call it a mistake?"

Todd sat beside her on the bed. "Is it a mistake because I did something wrong or because you're still hung up on Corinthos?"

"It's definitely the latter and not the former. Add to that the fact you have a family, two ex-wives that you have at one time or another admitted you love, and a propensity to get into trouble..."

"And you seem to have a thing for creeps."

"Sonny's not a creep...and neither are you." Alexis smiled a half-smile.

Todd eyed her. He liked the way she looked without her makeup. He liked the light that was in her eyes, even though she'd been through tough times. "Alexis, you sure we've learned enough from our mistake?" Todd inched a bit closer to her. "I mean when I mess up, I tend to mess up really bad. And I'm a real slow learner."

"Well, I wouldn't want that on my conscience." Alexis leaned in with a kiss. She ran her hands up his amazingly flat abs and across his chest until she rested her arms around his broad shoulders.

Todd kissed her back, surprised at how much he enjoyed doing so. Then he joined her fully on the bed.

.****

"Cat got your tongue, Jason? It is a simple question. Do you wanna tell me how you helped Carly cover her tracks or do you wanna tell me how you got her pregnant?"

"Carly's pregnant?" Jason's eyes widened in surprise.

Sonny smiled. "Typical Carly, she forgot to tell you that you were going to be a father. Congratulations _buddy_."

"Are you sure? I mean, how did you find out?" Jason almost whispered.

"Manning."

Sonny's calm unnerved Jason, particularly when he noticed Sonny's hand. "You're bleeding."

Sonny looked down and saw the blood that covered his palm. Oddly, he began to laugh. "I should be. You were bleeding when you found out about me and Carly. Remember, when I got Carly pregnant and stole your family from you? Looks like the tables have turned. "Without a word Sonny walked to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a towel wrapped around his hand.

Jason asked as soon as Sonny entered the room. "What did Manning say?"

"He didn't have to say anything. He had an advance copy of the paper delivered while I was there. I read the story about what Carly had been doing while she was in Ireland and something was missing. If Todd could get all this information about Carly's baby, why didn't he know who the father was? When I was leaving, he said, well, he almost said something that pointed to you. And I realized he knew you were the father, but something...someone had been able to convince him not to print it."

"Alexis?"

Sonny nodded.

"Does it help to say I'm sorry?"

"No, it's too late for apologies." Sonny said, as he sat on his sofa. He smiled then leaned back and closed his eyes. "You should've told me when it happened." Sonny thought of how things would be different if he had known the truth when Carly returned.

"Sonny, you are my brother. The only one I have. It happened one time and it was a mistake."

"No, it wasn't Jason." Sonny leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. "The mistake happened the night I betrayed you." A deep sigh escaped from his lips. "You love Carly. You always have. I don't blame you. For better or worse, she's got this power over you. She can make you do things that you normally wouldn't. She's never loved me the way she loved you. I didn't really understand it until..."

"Until you fell for Alexis."

Sonny nodded. "Carly and I love each other the best way we know how. But it's more about ownership. I didn't want anyone to have her and she didn't want anyone to have me." He stretched his legs onto the coffee table. "The funniest thing is Carly was the first one to see how I felt about Alexis. The day Alexis slapped me...the first time, when I had Zander kidnapped…Carly figured out how I felt about Alexis. I denied it because I didn't know what she meant to me. I wish it hadn't taken me so long to figure it out."

"I'm going to take Carly and Michael out of the country. Nothing will be left to stand in yours and Alexis's way."

"Except Manning."

A confused look crossed Jason's face.

Sonny continued to speak. "I saw them together. She's with Manning and she's pregnant."

"Carly told me you were with Alexis before she pushed her car into the water. Is it possible Alexis is pregnant with your baby?"

"She would tell me if she was."

"Would you still want to be with her even if it's not your baby?" Sonny combed his fingers through his hair and nodded.

"Then do whatever it takes." Jason turned to leave.

Sonny stood by the window for hours after Jason left. He recalled the events of the last few weeks. Jason was right. Sonny wanted a life with Alexis; and at that moment, he decided he would stop at nothing to have it.


	14. Chapter 14

**SUN N.Y. – Chapter 14**

Once again, Alexis woke up alone. It wasn't that she and Todd hadn't any more "mistakes" over the last few weeks, it's just that Todd was an even worse insomniac than Sonny. Every time Alexis and Todd had been together, she had awaken only to find his side of the bed empty. It was during those times that she thought of Sonny with his arms around her, seemingly protecting her from the world. Even still she was usually comforted by the thought that Todd was somewhere nearby: downstairs at his desk, on the sofa, in the kitchen ready to bring her crackers on queasy mornings like these. Knowing that he was in another state was actually a bit disconcerting.

What she found to be more disconcerting was that she was unsure if she missed Todd or whether she missed not missing Sonny when Todd was around. At first she was certain that it was the latter and not the former. Now she was certain that it was both and that was terrifying.

Alexis shook off the thought and jumped in the shower. It was nearly 9 a.m. and one thing she could be certain of was that Sonny would be making his daily visit. The moment he learned that Todd was out of town and that Alexis would be staying at her own apartment more, he began making daily visits, always bearing gifts.

The first day he appeared with his most charming smile and a small white box. He was promptly greeted with the door slammed in his face. Alexis did not find out what was in the box until she heard his apartment door close behind him. The box held Gardenias, just like the ones he had sent on Valentines Day. As she remembered the way he insulted her a couple of weeks before, she dumped them in the garbage. Magically, the Gardenias reappeared in a bowl of water. Though she fervently denied it, Alexis suspected "Moonbeam" was the culprit. The next day, Sonny appeared behind a vase of Roses, an exact replica of the ones he gave her the first time he brow beat her into representing Jason. Once again, he was met with the slamming of the door.

On Wednesday, after she slammed the door in Sonny's face, she opened it to find blue sapphire earrings which matched her mother's diamond necklace. For the first time a note was attached. It simply read, "To give to your daughter." Alexis was extremely moved and allowed her eyes to water, until she saw Sonny standing across the hallway grinning at her. "You know," he smiled, "it would be easier if you just took the gift and then slammed the door in my face." A laugh slipped out despite his efforts to control it.

"I will remember that in the future." Alexis said, as she stood from her kneeling position. "By the way, it's not polite to eavesdrop on people."

Sonny closed the door to his apartment and began to walk toward Penthouse 2, closing the distance between them. When he reached her, he responded softly, "It's only eavesdropping if two people are talking. Besides, I'm only trying to apologize."

Alexis glanced toward him, then smiled. "Maybe I'll let you apologize tomorrow." She punctuated her statement with the slam of the door. Though she wanted to be angry, Alexis had begun to look forward to their daily visits.

Sonny whispered aloud, "maybe tomorrow." At least, he thought, she wants to see you tomorrow. He returned to his apartment and phoned an associate. As he dialed the now familiar phone number, he thought about life's strange ironies. He was calling the last person in the world he had ever thought he would have to go to for help, particularly for help with Alexis. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

"She said, she might _let_ me apologize tomorrow." Sonny chuckled, growing more confident by the minute. "Are you ready for phase two?"

"No," the voice replied, "Alexis will never forgive me."

"Don't worry she'll forgive you. In fact, we'll name our first born after you." Sonny smiled as he considered Jason's suggestion that Alexis might be pregnant with his first born already.

"Really?" The voice asked, surprise apparent.

Sonny laughed. "No."

"Good, because I'm hoping that you being with Alexis will only be a temporary solution to the problem."

"I think it will be temporary...we'll probably only stay together the next 40 or 50 years."

The voice on the other end sighed. "You know, you're not making me feel any better. Tell me why I agreed to this again?"

"You are doing this because you care about Alexis. Because Manning is bad news. He's a rapist and a terrorist. And you know I'm in love with Alexis and she's in love with me, and...." Sonny paused for dramatic effect. "I can keep her safe if Helena or any other Cassadines try to go after her.. .and don't forget we have a contract."

"You won't let me forget. Keep me posted."

"Of course."

Thursday morning came finding Sonny anxious for nine o'clock to arrive. In his hand, he held a black velvet box. He rubbed his finger against the box and smiled. "You're going to love this." Sonny hummed as he slid out of his door. He caught a slight smile on Johnny's face. "What is it Johnny?"

"I just wanted to say, Good luck with Ms. Davis." Johnny said hesitantly, not wanting to overstep his bounds.

Sonny cocked his head to the side and inched closer to Johnny. "You like Alexis a lot, don't you?"

"All the guys do."

"I hope you don't like her so much that I'm going to have to fire you after I marry her?"

Johnny froze until he saw that a grin had crept on to Sonny's face. He patted Johnny on the shoulder. "Loosen up." Sonny continued to bounce toward Alexis' apartment. He reached the door and knocked. There was no answer. He was about to reach for the master key when he realized the door was open. Sonny stepped in, cautiously looking around. "Alexis?" he called out. He took the stairs to at a time until he reached her bedroom, just in time to her Alexis gargling.

A few seconds later, Alexis emerged. She wore a simple pair of jeans and what looked to be a man's T-shirt...probably Todd's. Her eyes were weak and her face was flushed.

"You look like h*ll." Sonny managed.

"And you're lousy at apologizing. What are you doing up here anyway?" Alexis asked once she realized he was in her bedroom.

"The door was open." Sonny visually examined Alexis.

"Kristina probably forgot to lock it when she went for her run. Why are you staring at me?"

Sonny smiled, "Because I was serious, you look awful. Morning sickness?"

"Right now it is morning sickness, but I expect a full bout of afternoon or evening sickness later on." Alexis smiled faintly. "The doctor expects it to be over soon."

"How soon?" Sonny wondered to himself. He wouldn't ask her though. He would never allow her to believe that he only wanted to be with her because she might be pregnant with his child. He walked to the bathroom and then emerged carrying a damp wash cloth. Sinking onto the bed, he patted the space on the bed beside him. "Come here."

"Don't think I don't remember what happened the last time you did that, " Alexis thought as she walked hesitantly to the bed.

Sincerity was apparent as he spoke. "I'm not going to hurt you, Alexis. I just want to take care of you."

Alexis sat beside Sonny on the bed. He placed the soft cloth on her head then gently leaned them both back against the pillows. Alexis allowed herself to enjoy the sensation of being held. "This isn't necessary," she lied.

"Would you just let me do something nice? You helped me out when I almost lost it about Courtney and A.J. Let me do this for you."

"And aren't you forgetting something? Like my present." Alexis hated that curiosity had come to make her wonder what gift Sonny had brought.

"It's a surprise. I'll give it to you when you feel better." Sonny moved a few strands of her bangs from her forehead.

"Fine. But I still haven't forgiven you. You haven't even apologized, yet."

"I know. But you see, if I apologize, there will be no reason for me to keep coming back."

Alexis simply rolled her eyes and settled in against his chest. This is what she missed. Sonny was the most tender man she knew...most of the time. Why had he come back to her...everyday? All she could figure out was that now that Carly had betrayed him again, and now, he wanted his friend back. Maybe he even wanted more. She had someone now...sort of and she was not about to be Sonny's rebound girl. And she intended to tell him that...as soon as she woke up.

Sonny combed his fingers through Alexis's hair. As he watched her sleep, he kicked himself for having been blinded by his own pride. He should have told her how he felt when Carly came back. Problem was he didn't know for sure then. It didn't matter, though, the stage was already set. He would tell her exactly how he felt...tomorrow.

Todd leaned back in his seat in first class. After having bought out all the seats in First class, he was certain to be alone. Quickly, he dialed a number. "Briggs.....yeah it's Manning. I outdid myself this time. Seems Janine Matthews pulled a fast one. What I'm saying is Courtney Matthews isn't Corinthos's sister....Oh no, he's got family in town. You're going to drop when you find out who Sonny's pop got pregnant."


	15. Chapter 15

**SUN N.Y. – Chapter 15**

Sonny shifted his back against the headboard of Alexis' bead. His back was cramped so badly that it felt like he had spent the day in a medieval torture chamber. "Only for you princess," he whispered. Though he was in pain his heart was never lighter. This, he hoped, was a preview of his future.

In one bittersweet moment, Alexis began to will herself awake. At the moment she awakened, she thought that whatever gift he gave her this morning would not compare to his smile. She remembered that smile. It was the shy, boyish smile he had shown her on Valentine's Day. The one that came right after she realized the present at her feet had been from him. He traced the outline of her chin with his finger, which unnerved her.

"What time is it?" She asked, and then forced herself to sit up straight.

Sonny answered without looking at his watch. "About noon."

"I thought you would have been long gone."

"And miss seeing those eyes open? Nahhh." Sonny smiled. His hand reached out and smoothed her hair.

"What are you doing?" Alexis jumped back, now fully awake and fully defensive.

"Saving you from bed head." His laughter echoed through the room.

"Funny. Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Right, your present." Sonny reached in his pocket and removed the small velvet box. He extended his hand and offered it to Alexis. As she reached for it, he quickly pulled his hand away.

"Alexis, aren't _you_ forgetting something?" His New York accent seasoned his voice.

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Please."

"She's all yours counselor." Magically, his hand reappeared, the velvet box sitting in the center.

A serious expression crossed her visage. "Please tell me you're not proposing."

Sonny began to laugh. "Don't ever talk to me about my ego. Besides we have plenty of time for all of that."

That was a comment Alexis had no desire to touch. So tentatively, she took the box and opened it to reveal a gold heart-shaped pendant. On the back, it simply read: April 23, 2003. "Sonny, it's beautiful."

Sonny's voice cracked a bit, filled with emotion. "I thought I'd give you this heart, to always remind you of the day you stole mine." He noticed her hesitation and thought it best to fill the air with the sound of his own voice. "I'm not asking you to make me any promises. I just thought you should know how I feel."

Alexis remained silent as she searched her brain for the right words.

Time to change the subject. Sonny knew he planted the seed; now, it was time for him to watch it grow. He stood and walked to the door of her bedroom. "I bet you're starving. Why don't we go back to my place so, I can make you some lunch?"

"I can't...I'm expecting ....a phone call." Alexis had now become a regular on Todd Manning's speed dial. Today he had specifically requested that she wait for his call in her apartment at 12:00. Alexis stood and closed the distance between she and Sonny, "I'm sorry...it's important."

Sonny managed to camouflage his anger. "Todd?"

A nod was her only response. It made Sonny more determined not to give up. He somehow managed a bright smile, "Tell you what, how about I go over to my apartment and make us some lunch and then I'll bring it over here."

"Who are you and what have you done with Sonny Corinthos?" Alexis playfully touched his forehead, checking for a phantom fever. "By the way, don't think the new you doesn't need to apologize for the way the old you behaved."

"I promise I'll apologize at lunch. You will have lunch with me, right?"

Alexis shook her head, knowing that Sonny could, more than likely, talk her into whatever he wanted. It angered her that it usually was what she wanted, too. "Fine."

At 12:00 p.m., Alexis took her post by the phone. Although the morning with Sonny had been near perfect, it terrified her. Sonny possessed the power to make her lose control, to let her mind overrule her heart. With Todd, she could control her feelings, most of the time, though he had a way of growing on her. Still, both she and Todd knew that either of them could walk away whenever they chose.

The blare of the phone shook her from her thoughts. The familiar voice brought a smile to her face. "Alex?"

"Hi Todd. Where are you?"

"In a plane. I just came from digging up more dirt on Vito."

Confused, she scrunched her face into a ball then sighed. "Right, Vito Corleone as in the Godfather, as in Sonny."

"Gee Alex, you understand me. I'm touched."

Alexis fought back a smile then grew serious. "Don't you think you've tortured Sonny enough?"

"Whatever...Hey, walk to your door and open it."

"There's not a paper-towel bomb for Sonny on the other side, is there?" Alexis asked, suspiciously.

"Nope, this present is for you...and the Don." He paused for a moment. "I thought you might be lonely, you know without me there to look after you."

Alexis laughed. "You wish." Carefully, she took steps toward the door. Carefully, because with Todd she might unknowingly open Pandora's Box. With one swift movement, she opened the door to find, a thin, scraggly looking man, holding what looked to be a three-pound Chihuahua, which he promptly dumped in her arms.

"Todd what is this?" Alexis looked at the pitiful excuse for a dog in her arms. The dog cuddled into the warmth of her body.

"I told you, I thought you might be lonely. Besides, you were so freaked out about being a kid's mom; I thought you could practice on Vito."

"You named the dog, Vito?" Alexis asked, sinking into the sofa, still holding Vito.

"Yeah, since the littlest Don now lives with, you have no reason to go see the mini-Don that lives across the hall."

Alexis broke into a full laugh. She couldn't help herself. She teased, "Are you jealous?"

"Whatever. I gotta go. I'm on my way to Brooklyn. I've got a little more research to do."

"What can I do to convince you to give up your obsession with Sonny?" No sooner than she said Sonny's name, Vito sprung up from his contented position on her lap and began to growl. Alexis rubbed his head and once again he settled down. "Don't you how dangerous Sonny…?" Once again, Vito growled. "Todd what's wrong with this dog?"

"Nothing. I taught him how to growl when he heard the S-word. He also attacks on sight."

Alexis shook her head and laughed. "Words cannot describe how obnoxious you are Mr. Manning."

"Thanks."

*********

Sonny prepared a light lunch with a fruit tray that played host to lots of strawberries. If he knew Alexis, she hadn't had a decent meal in weeks. That baby of theirs...hers…Manning's…whosever, needed proper nutrition. A knock echoed out from the front door. Alexis must have changed her mind was his initial thought. He was wrong. It was Detective Marcus Taggert.

"Where you been keeping yourself?" Taggert asked, the sarcasm poured from his voice.

"Looks like you already knew where to find me, Taggert." Marcus Taggert had been a thorn in Sonny's side since Taggert arrived in Port Charles. Back in Bensonhurst, Taggert was the rookie partner of Sonny's monstrous stepfather, Deke. When Deke was found dead; Taggert blamed him. He vowed to Sonny's face way back then that he would make him pay and coming to Port Charles only seemed to make Taggert more determined. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what you're up to. Why've you been so quiet?"

"I don't have time for this Taggert. I'm expecting someone." The last thing he wanted was for Alexis to be deluded into believing Todd was more law-abiding than he was…even though it was probably a toss up.

The door bell rang once more. And things became even more surreal when Sonny found himself relieved to find none other than Jasper Jacks.

Jacks took one look at Sonny and then he glanced at Taggert. There were no handcuffs, so he was left to assume that Taggert was paying Corinthos one of his weekly harassment calls, which Jax usually appreciated; though not today. "Detective Taggert, do you think you can possibly find another criminal to harass today. I have business with Corinthos."

"What kind of business?" Taggert raised his eyebrows.

"Legitimate and the kind that doesn't concern you." Jax snapped.

Taggert smiled, slyly. "Jasper Jacks, should I assume the rumors about your family's link to organized crime are true."

"What you should assume, Detective Taggert, is that both Corinthos and I have the brilliant attorney across the hall on retainer. And if you insist on continuing with this harassment, she's going to have your badge."

"Calm down, Silver Spoon. I'm going, but just know I'll be watching you both." Taggert's self-satisfied smile remained on his face as he departed.

Sonny turned to Jax. "What can I do for you Candyboy?"

Jax walked inside. He couldn't believe what he'd come to say. "I want Alexis out of her relationship with Manning, now. And I'm here to make sure you take care of it sooner rather than later."


	16. Chapter 16

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 16

"Why exactly should I believe that you are here to help me get Alexis back, Candyboy? We've got a contract and that's all I needed. No one said anything about you actually participating the plan."

"Look Sonny, I found out that Manning is bad news."

"Who told you that? Skye Chandler? Kinda like the pot calling the kettle...if you know what I mean. Besides, you've been saying the same thing about me for the last ten years or so."

"And I've been right."

Sonny shook his head in disbelief that his desire to have Alexis had reduced him to conversations with Candyboy. "Again, why should I believe you want to help me get Alexis back?"

"When it appeared to me that things had the potential to get serious between Alexis and Manning, I hired a private investigator. Alexis has a habit of making bad choices where the opposite sex is concerned…present company included."

Sonny chuckled. "Good ol' Candyboy always protecting women even if they don't ask you to."

"Make all the jokes you want Corinthos, but Manning is bad news. He's blown up yachts, kidnapped half of Llanview, broken out of prison..."

Sonny raised a hand to cut Jax off mid-sentence. "I know all of this I hired my own _private investigator_."

"I assure you, my guy was able to get a little more information. It's amazing what people will tell you when you grease their palms instead of break their ankles....You know Todd married his former attorney in order to help him get his kids back. Let's just say the marriage was rocky. Neighbors say he tossed his wife into the hallway wearing nothing but a sheet. When she filed for divorce, she used alienation of affections as grounds."

"He threw her out because she wanted to go to bed with him?" Sonny whispered.

"It gets better or worse depending on how you look at it. Todd reconciled with his first wife, but when he did, he thought she was pregnant with another man's child. So, he told her the baby died then he gave the baby away."

Jax watched Sonny. He hoped his words had the urgency he had expected they would have. For the last few weeks Jax had suspected that Alexis was pregnant. He remembered the night she had come to the club, shortly after Carly had gone missing. Alexis had been desperate to prove Carly was alive...too desperate. And by Jax's calculations, that could only mean one thing: Alexis and Sonny were going to be parents soon. He continued, "And while you are an egomaniacal, self-centered, one man human wrecking crew; I don't think you would be intentionally be that cruel."

"Thanks." Sonny's mind raced in a hundred different directions.

"Besides, I have reason to believe Alexis is carrying your child."

"What makes you think that?" Sonny felt slightly uneasy at the thought that Alexis had told Candyboy about their night together.

"Well, I'm pretty certain she's pregnant."

"So, what if she is?" Sonny believed in playing his cards close to the vest, particularly where Jax was concerned.

"I'm fairly certain she's been pregnant for a while." He sighed, "She was so distraught when Carly went missing. I knew something happened between the two of you. I should have known, you'd taken advantage of her."

"I didn't take advantage of Alexis. She matters to me."

"Is that why you were draped all over Carly within a matter of weeks? You do understand that this thing with Manning is all your fault. You left her for Carly and now she's with Manning. Just consider for a moment the possibility that Alexis is carrying your child…What do you think Manning will do when he figures out Alexis's baby isn't his?"

Sonny thought hard. In his private time, he too, had begun to speculate that Alexis was carrying his child. Worse yet, he wondered what Manning thought. Did Manning know the baby was his? What if he was biding his time, just waiting to get rid of his son or daughter? "So, why are you here? You should tell me fast because Alexis will be here any minute."

"I came to warn you that Stefan is on his way back to Port Charles."

"So."

"So, Stefan hates you, Corinthos and it's partially because of your prior association with Luke Spencer. And I'm certain he thinks you're socially beneath his sister."

"What are you saying?"

"Work fast." Jax turned toward the door. "Get Alexis away from Manning before Stefan takes away her reason to leave him."

Alexis had almost forgotten about lunch when Kristina rushed in. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Alexis fawning over Vito. "Alexis, what are you holding?"

"This is Vito Davis. He's our new dog. Todd sent him." Alexis grinned.

"Why did Todd send you a dog?" Kristina moved forward and began to pat Vito's head. The puppy showered her hand with kisses.

"He thought I might get lonely while he was gone." Alexis was not yet ready to reveal her "delicate" condition, so she left out the second reason.

"Has Sonny seen...." Vito jumped up and began to growl at Kristina.

"Alexis, what's wrong with this dog?"

"Todd, trained him to have a negative reaction to a certain person's name."

Kristina laughed so hard she nearly turned purple. She stopped when Vito suddenly ran to the door and began to bark.

"Alexis, it's me, Sonny." Vito barked so hard that his tiny little frame began to shake. "Is that a dog?"

Alexis carefully walked to the door and snatched a still panicked Vito from the floor. "I'm afraid I can't let you in. I have a vicious attack dog in here, waiting to sink his teeth into you."

"He doesn't sound vicious. I think it's safe to let me in."

"Suit yourself." With her right hand, Alexis swung the door open to reveal a perplexed Sonny Corinthos. Vito continued to bark.

"Your lease doesn't..." Before Sonny could finish, Vito sprang from Alexis' arms and sank his teeth into Sonny's leg. Actually, he sank his teeth into Sonny's sock, but he was aiming for his leg. All Sonny could do was smile. The little guy was kinda cute, even if he was obnoxious. "You know this little guy might be good to have around if we can teach him to use his powers for good."

"We?" Alexis asked then raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we." Sonny reached down and removed a stark-raving mad Vito from his ankle. "I can be very good with puppies...kittens...you know, babies." Sonny picked Vito up and held him near his chest. Seconds later, Vito grew quiet.

Alexis felt her face grow several shades of red as the wheels began to turn in Krisitna's head. The peculiar look on Sonny's face snapped her out of her anxiety. A trail of Vito's lunchtime beverage now trickled down one of Sonny's most expensive silk shirts. When Sonny realized what was happening, he held Vito out in front of him, which only gave the dog access to Sonny's Armani trousers and his Bruno Magli shoes

.

Sonny felt himself grow angry. "He did it on purpose." His face softened as he watched Alexis and Kristina laugh hysterically. "That's fine. Babies have accidents all the time." Sonny handed Vito back to Alexis. "Alexis, you'll get what I mean when your baby is born."

The light bulb went on in Kristina's head as terror struck Alexis. "How could you?" she mouthed to Sonny.

He whispered back. "Hey, you sicked Vito on me; Kristina is payback."

"I'm not going to forgive you for this one, Corinthos." Alexis said, only half-serious.

"Yeah, you will as soon as you get a taste of the lunch I just made." Sonny stepped out of the door.

"I don't have to talk to be able to eat."

"Fine. I'm sure I can think of some other ways to burn our lunchtime calories." The door closed in his face.

Alexis turned to face Kristina, who was in full interrogation mode. "Spill it Alexis…"

****

Todd entered the plane. He had just had a very interesting conversation with a woman by the name of Cerullo. Seems Mike Corbin was quite the ladies man in Brooklyn, both while he was married and when he was single. He had all the proof he needed that Sonny Corinthos had a brother and he was bringing it back to Port Charles.


	17. Chapter 17

_Hi all. Todd gets this chapter off while he digs up more dirt on Sonny. ____ This one is all Sexis. A little warning, if you haven't seen the Sexis Puerto Rico scenes, this chapter won't make sense. You can find them at Hope you enjoy! As always, I love your feedback; so, any replies are greatly appreciated._

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 17

Kristina plopped on Alexis's bed; she woke her in the process. "Alexis, are you hungry?"

A groggy Alexis pulled the blanket over her head. "Do I look like I'm hungry?" she yelled from beneath the covers. Alexis locked herself in her room last night and she managed to dodge a barrage of Kristina's questions that arose after Sonny dropped the pregnancy bomb. Somehow, this morning, Kristina got in. Alexis sat up then rubbed her eyes. "Kristina, how did you get in here?"

"I had Johnny pick the lock."

"You did what?!!!"

"Well, I figured you wouldn't want me to get Sonny to open the door." Kristina looked on as Alexis rolled her eyes. She continued carefully. "Vito was barking like crazy, he needed to be walked. You know, he's a strong little guy. It took all my strength to Yank him away from Sonny's door this morning. Anyway, I had Johnny pick the lock so that I could get Vito. When I got back and you still weren't up, I thought something might be wrong with you or Alison."

Alexis raised one eyebrow. "Who is Alison?"

"The baby, silly. I figured since she was one-half Alexis and one-half Sonny, we should combine the two and call her Alison, at least until you pick something else out."

"How could you possibly know that...?"

"That she's a girl? Easy. You've been radiating this pinkish-purple aura for weeks now. "

"Not about the her being a girl. You couldn't possibly know that; I suspect she is but I won't know that for another month. I'm asking what makes you think the baby is Sonny's?"

"Easy. I started to think back to when I first noticed your symptoms. By my calculations, you would have to have had sex with Todd the first day you met him for there to be even the slightest chance that the baby is his. You don't take sex lightly, Alexis. Do you even know how long you fought your feelings for Sonny? This baby is Sonny's."

Alexis sunk back into bed. Kristina stretched out beside her. She spoke only after she noticed Alexis' sobs. "Don't worry. I'm not going to tell Sonny. He should probably find out he's going to be a father from the woman he loves." Kristina tapped Alexis' forehead gently.

"Kristina, please don't start. Sonny's not in love with me. He wants me to be a substitute for Carly. "

"That's not what I see when he looks at you. Why don't you give him a chance?" Kristina snuggled into her sister more.

"Because it costs me too much." Alexis wiped a stray tear from her face.

"Is that why you're with Todd?"

"No...Yes, I don't know. Things are so much easier with Todd."

"That's because you're not in love with him and he not in love with you...yet." Alexis gave Kristina a perplexed look. "You see my dear sister. You always underestimate yourself. Every man I know has a crush on you."

"Like who?"

"Jax.."

"Jax?!! We're just fr..."

"Zander."

"He's like my kid brother..."

"Luke."

Alexis burst out laughing. "Luke?!!!!! He's just shameless."

"Face it Alexis. You're adorable. And my niece is going to be just as gorgeous as her mom." Kristina grinned. She stopped when she realized Alexis was crying. "Alexis what's wrong?"

"Nothing. " Alexis laughed through her tears. "It just these damn hormones." The two continued to chuckle. "Remind me to thank Jax for finding my sister."

***

Thanks to Kristina, Alexis had managed to be awake and dressed by nine o'clock or as it was know around Penthouse 2, "present time." But nine o'clock came and went with no sign of Sonny. At first Alexis thought of ways to show Sonny that she was still angry, even angrier now that he had blown her off. By 10 a.m. she was worried and began to pace. At 10:30 a.m. the doorbell rang. Alexis threw the door open with great force.

"You're late."

"I didn't know we had an appointment?" The familiar Aussie accent rang out. Alexis hugged him tightly. "Hey what's wrong?"

"It's Sonny. He was supposed to be here at 9 a.m."

"Are you sure? I saw him at Kelly's about a half hour ago. Typical Corinthos, no regard for..."

"Let's change the subject. I want you to meet my dog, Vito?" Alexis flew to the kitchen and returned with Vito. The two took to each other immediately. As Jax played with Vito, Alexis amused him with the story of Vito and Sonny's first meeting. Time passed quickly as the two friends bonded. A few minutes before noon, Jax looked at his watch.

"Alexis, can I ask a huge favor of you? I have a business meeting. Carly sold her portion of the club to some jerk and he's got all of these outrageous ideas and I'm not so sure I can put a stop to any of them. Carly had creative control and this guy is trying to claim it transferred to him when he bought her half of the club. Do you know he's already brought in contractors to do some of the work?"

"I'm expecting a call otherwise I'd be glad too."

"If I remember correctly, my dear ex-wife, you were well acquainted with the use of a little device know as a cell phone when we were married." Alexis admired how handsome Jax was when he chuckled. His big, bright eyes reminded her of a mischievous school boy.

"Give me a few minutes to change?"

"Of Course."

Alexis changed into her black pin-striped suit with the tie in the back. She loved the suit and hated it at the same time. It reminded her of both the night she had been with Sonny and the reason she was there in the first place. Much to her chagrin, it was the only one of her suits that hadn't started to get snug and she was little more than two months pregnant.

Jax and Alexis continued to chat on their way to the club. Each avoided the two most volatile subjects: Sonny and Todd. Finally, they pulled up to what used to be Club 101. Jax was right, the new co-owner had already begun to change the edifice to something that was vaguely familiar. As Alexis walked through the club, she got a creepy feeling of déjà-vu. Her mind flashed to drinking rum and dancing with Sonny.

Jax interrupted her thoughts. "The new guy decided that he wanted the club to have a distinctly Latin feel about it. He wants to call the place 'Te Amo,' which means ... "

"I love you." Alexis finished his sentence. Although she wasn't exactly fluent in Spanish, she knew enough to recognize the phrase. She admired the small tables similar to the one where she sat drinking rum, seven months prior. Someone had gotten in her head and duplicated the best night of her life, the one in Puerto Rico. In a daze, she stepped across the floor and headed directly to what looked like a terrace. "What's out here?"

Jax ran ahead of her. "This is where the guy is being completely unreasonable. He insists on having a pond out on the terrace. I told him that it doesn't make sense to have an outdoor pond in New York, particularly since we have a pretty frigid winter here, but he insists." Jax opened the French doors and watched as Alexis melted. Leaving Jax behind, she walked directly to the pond and swished her hand in the lukewarm water. A tear fell down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. Her voice cracked as she spoke. "What did you say the name of this place is?"

Though she expected Jax, it was Sonny's voice that answered, "Te Amo, Alexis."


	18. Chapter 18

_Hi all. Thanks again for the replies. Just a reminder that this story takes place in 2002. Also, there seems to be a split amongst the Sexis and Texis fans. So, if anyone is unhappy with the way this story ends (I think there are like 7 or 8 chapters left), I would be happy to take a stab at a sequel or an alternate ending if there is any interest. _

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 18

Sonny repeated himself. "Te amo, Alexis."

A chill crept up Alexis' spine as she heard Sonny speak the words she once longed to hear. Unfortunately, she knew better than to trust them. While her back remained to him, Alexis erased all evidence of her tears. She cleared her throat. She moved to the side of the fountain where she took a seat. Without facing him, she spoke, "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but…"

"I'm not trying to pull anything." Sonny joined Alexis where she sat at the side of the fountain. He lifted his hand to run it through her hair, before he stopped himself. He was half-afraid she would flee. "Can't you see I had to do this? I needed to go back to Puerto Rico. I wanted to remember what it was like between us before the rest of the world got in the way."

Alexis sat silently. Her body gently shook with emotion. Years of living with Helena taught her how to hide her feelings. She replied icily, "If I remember correctly, you left Puerto Rico to go chase after Carly."

Sonny ran his fingers through his hair before he took a deep breath. "Alexis, do you want to know why I tried so hard with Carly?"

Alexis began to stand. "I'm not sure that I'm the person you should be discus..." The feel of his hand on her waist stopped her mid-sentence. Once more, she returned to her seat at the side of the fountain.

While his hand was on her waist, Sonny took the opportunity to turn her body toward him. She kept her head lowered. For the first time, she was able to notice that he wore the burgundy-colored shirt he had worn the morning after their night together.

With his free hand he raised her chin to allow them to see eye to eye. Whisper-soft he said, "I need to say this." A deep sigh escaped his lips. "When Jason found me and Carly together, it almost killed him. In one single selfishness moment, I almost lost the best friend I ever had. The more I built Carly up in my mind as the great love of my life, the less I hated myself for betraying my friend."

Alexis spoke before she had time to censor her thoughts. "It doesn't explain why you went back to...."

"What was I supposed to do? You pushed me out of the door without letting me tell you how I felt. I felt like I was given a second chance after Lily and Brenda died. It's a mistake I made once and I'm not going to make it again." Sonny reached out and took her hands in his. "I love you, Alexis. It's possible I have for years. I think I started to figure that out in Puerto Rico. When we were together there, I felt so at peace. I thought if you could remember that night, maybe you could find your way back to my heart. That's how I came up with the idea for Te Amo."

Tears flooded Alexis' face. Gently, Sonny wiped them away with his hands. New tears appeared quickly replacing the old. Alexis wrapped her arms around her body protectively. "You had my heart before and it nearly cost me everything. What do you want from me? "

"Nothing....Everything." Sonny smiled. He lifted his hand to stroke her hair. "I want to wake up with you in the morning...every morning. I want to be a father to your child…to all your children. I want to put you to bed at night." He laughed out loud as he remembered his failed attempt at seducing Alexis.

A slight blush filled her cheeks as she remembered, too. "I knew you weren't drunk that night."

"Shhh…" He placed a finger to her lips. "What I'm trying to say is: I want to finish the dance we started. It wasn't finished when we walked off the floor that night in Puerto Rico. And it wasn't finished the night your baby was conceived. "

Alexis' eyes widened. She began to speak again only to have Sonny's index finger meet her lips. "That's right. Even carrying another man's child can't make me stop loving you or this baby. I already think of this as my own because if I hadn't walked away from you, it would be my own."

"Sonny, there's something you should know about this baby." Alexis fidgeted with her hands. In her mind, she tried to map out a way to tell Sonny he was going to be a father.

"Let me finish."

Alexis smiled softly at Sonny's determination. With each second that passed, she grew more confident in his love for her. Sonny exhaled deeply and then began again. "I realized that no matter how hard I fought against being like Mike I had turned into him anyway."

"How are you like Mike? You tried your best to give Michael a father; it just didn't work out with Carly."

"That's not what I meant." Sonny placed her hands in his and rubbed them softly. "Just like Mike, I had a woman who loved me and who would do anything for me. I had a woman I could build a family with, but I kept going back to something or someone who could destroy me. Mike may have let gambling keep him away from my mother and me, but you have to trust me when I say I won't make the mistake of letting Carly come between us again."

Tears began to stream down her cheeks. Not being one who was used to showing her emotions, she hid her face in her hands. Gently, Sonny pulled her to his shoulder and comforted her like he had done so many times before. "Shh...it's okay. Baby, I know this is a lot for me to lay on you right now." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Alexis continued to rest her head on Sonny's shoulder. After a moment, she suddenly sat straight up. "Did you just call me baby? Do you know how condescending it is for a grown woman to be called baby. It implies that she is incapable of making decisions....."

Once again, Sonny placed a single index finger to her lips. "Alexis, I did not intend to imply that you were less than capable. You proved how very capable you are on my birthday. As far as decisions go, I am going to let you make one. You can continue to lecture me on what a chauvinist I am or you can let me kiss you."

"While it is true that you are a chauvinist, I think I prefer the latter to the former."

Sonny flashed a dimpled 1000-watt smile and leaned in toward Alexis. He was hesitant at first, as if he was afraid that he would awake from a dream. He allowed his hand to trace the regal outline of her face then gently moved her chin closer to his, her mouth closer to his mouth. His lips brushed hers gently, at first. It seemed as if he thought she was doll that could be broken. Slowly and tenderly, he kissed her again and again until he felt her tongue slip between his lips. Their kisses became more passionate and threatened to spin out of control....until Alexis' cellphone rang.

Somehow she managed to free herself from Sonny's embrace. "Don't," he moaned.

"I have to," was her breathless reply. She smoothed her clothing as though the caller could see through the phone. "Alexis Davis."

"Hey Alex. I'm back. Where are you?" Todd demanded.

"Hey, I didn't know you were going to be back today." She shivered as Sonny rubbed his hands up and down her back. "This really isn't a good time."

"Like I care. I need you to get over to my suite."

"As I said," Alexis spoke sternly, "this isn't a good time." She stood and moved from Sonny's immediate vicinity. "Todd, just because we're together doesn't mean you get to order me around."

"Fine, but if you stay there. I'm going to let the whole world know that Gidget isn't Sonny's sister."

Alexis sighed. "Give me ten minutes." Clearly annoyed, she slammed her cellphone shut. She reached out and touched Sonny's face. "I have to go."

"Manning calls and just like that you're gone?"

She sighed. How could she tell Sonny that he was about to lose another family member without proof? "It's important. If it wasn't I wouldn't go. Thank you for this. I'll be in touch." Quickly, Alexis stood and headed away from the terrace and out of the door."

"Damn." Sonny whispered.

Alexis walked into the Todd's hotel suite. She yelled at the bottom of the stairs. "Manning get down here."

Todd leisurely strolled down the stairs. "Hey Alex." He leaned his head awkwardly toward Alexis as though he was waiting for a kiss. "How'd you get in here?"

"I have a key remember. Do you want to tell me what was so important that it needed my immediate attention?"

"What's wrong Alex, didn't eat your Wheaties this morning?"

She exhaled strongly. "You've got three seconds to talk or I'm out of here. You can start with this nonsense about Courtney or you can tell me why you demanded I get here."

"Seriously, what's got your panties in a bunch? I thought after two weeks, you'd be glad to see me. Oh wait, don't tell me the mini-mobster got to you. That's it: No kibble for Vito."

"Funny. Maybe I would have been glad to see you if you hadn't blackmailed me to get me over here. And now that I'm here, you have three seconds to tell me what you have on Sonny's dad."

"There's that name again. Where's my dog?" Todd began to pace.

"You're dog? Vito's mine. Now, I'm counting: one…"

"Fine."

"Two."

"Calm down. You need to see something first. Hey Starr, get down here. There's someone I want you to meet."

Soon a nine or ten year old girl, with blonde curly-hair appeared at the top of the stairs. She marched down the stairs clearly annoyed that whatever she had been doing had been interrupted. When she reached Alexis she looked her over then spoke. "I'm Starr. Who are you?"

Before Alexis could speak, Todd chimed in. "Starr, this is Alexis, your soon-to-be stepmother."


	19. Chapter 19

_Hi all, this one is mostly Texis…and they're not getting along that well. No problem. Alexis can handle both Sonny and Todd…Starr might be a different story. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy. As always, reviews are appreciated. _

_FYI- I'll be publishing Chapter 20 later this evening._

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 19

Before Alexis could object, Starr yelled, "I don't want a stepmother. If I have to have a stepmother, why can't you get back with the old one?"

"Because I left her on a deserted island and she's probably not speaking to me." As Todd dug his heels in and braced for an argument with Starr, Alexis began to freak out.

"Her Step...step...mother?" Alexis choked on her words. As she was gasping for air, she began to point at her purse. "Bag." She managed to squeeze out.

"Hey Dad," Starr suddenly stopped her debate with Todd and watched Alexis quizzically, "what's wrong with her?"

"Like I know," Todd snapped, quickly shoving Alexis' purse at her. She reached inside and pulled out a paper bag. With heavy breaths she released her anxiety into the bag. Without realizing it, Todd gently rubbed Alexis' back. Starr sat down and watched Alexis as if she were a shaken snow globe.

When she regained her composure, she snatched her body away from Todd's touch. "Todd, I'm not going to be Starr's new stepmother. In fact, I'm not going to be anyone's stepmother. I'm no good at marriage. I can't do the mommy-thing. I'm no good at it." Alexis covered her face with her hands.

"Look Alexis, you better get used to it. You got one kid on the way. That's why I sent you Vito, duh." Todd stood up and paced. "What's the big deal if you gotta look after one or two more kids every now and again?"

Starr stood and placed her hands on her hips. A dirty look toward Alexis followed. "Well, I'm not doing anything she says."

Alexis peeked from behind her fingers at Starr and then laughed out loud. "Good because I'm not doing anything your father says. We are not getting married." Her declaration soothed Starr and soon the girl plopped beside her on the sofa. Todd joined them on the sofa. "Todd, today I realized today that I'm still in love with..."

"What's love got to do with it?" Todd cut her off not, wanting to hear the end of her sentence. A laugh rolled of his lips when he realized he had just quoted Tina Turner.

"Everything."

Todd began pointing excitedly. "See, see, I knew you were going to say that. We're in sync. It's like we're already married."

Alexis sighed and then she snuggled herself into the end of the sofa where she sat. Wearily, she looked up at Todd. "Can you give me one good reason?"

Todd ran to his desk drawer and pulled out a folder. "I can give you 100 reasons." He handed her the folder.

Alexis began to scan the papers. They looked like documents gathered from a private detective. Starr attempted to scan the folder with her eyes. Todd raised an eyebrow as he noticed. "Starr, why don't you go upstairs and call your brother?"

With her angry face on, the little girl reflected her father's expression. "Because he's too little to talk on the phone."

"Then call your Aunt Dorian."

"You don't even like my Aunt Dorian."

"But you do."

Starr hopped up and placed both hands on her hips. "I'm not going upstairs."

"Now." Todd yelled.

"Starr," Alexis tugged on her sleeve gently. "I need to speak to your father...please." Something about the way Alexis' voice quivered or maybe the way her hand shook that made Starr comply with her request. The two adults waited as the flaxen-haired child stomped up the stairs before they spoke again.

"See," Todd said gleefully. "You're great with her."

Alexis looked at the file. The information inside the file was enough to put everyone she loved in prison or to at least embarrass them into exile. The folder contained: proof that Nicholas paid off a witness to lie about who was at fault in Gia's accident; the whereabouts of Jerry Jacks and details about his latest illegal venture; and worse, there was proof of John Jacks's prior illegal dealings with the mob. She found documents that demonstrated that Ned and Edward Quartermaine had violated various SEC rules and engaged in insider trading. And then there was the stuff on Sonny. Somehow, Sonny had a brother not a sister. Her mind could barely register the who or the how. Todd had even managed to get offshore account numbers connecting Sonny pretty tightly to money laundering. "Todd, where did you get this information?"

Todd plopped on the couch beside her. "Hey, a journalist can't reveal his sources. Besides, I've got a ton of money. You'd be surprised at what it can buy." Alexis sat silently, attempting to register the information in the file. Todd snatched it out of her hand.

"What do you want from me?" Alexis closed her eyes, as she remembered that she had asked Sonny the same question less than two hours before.

"Simple Alex, you marry me. You help me get custody of my kids and I don't make the people in this file front page news." Todd waved it in his hand.

A tear ran down Alexis' cheek. Gingerly, she stood up from her spot on the sofa. "I never understood why people called you a monster...until now." With one last glance, Alexis turned then slammed the door behind her.

Todd heard Starr's voice behind him. "Dad, she seemed nice enough. Why did you make her cry?"

"Don't worry Starr. I'll make it up to her.... Hey why don't you go get that game you love to play?"

Starr gave her father a disgusted look; her lip hung low and her cheeks puffed out. "That's OK I'll just play by myself." She turned and walked sullenly to her room.

Todd looked behind him, making certain that Starr was truly gone. He then picked up the phone. "Yeah, I gave her the file....I'm not sure if she'll go along with it....What do you mean, why not?....She's your sister, you should know her better than I do."

From her car, Alexis dialed Sonny and explained that she needed to see him. She asked that he give her 30 minutes. Then she made her second stop. She prayed no one would see her at the Port Charles Hotel. The last thing she needed was for AJ or Courtney to come around the corner. She wasn't even certain if this was a violation of the deal Todd had just proposed. But, she had to try it...for Sonny's sake. Luckily, she remembered where the freight elevator was after having lived in the hotel with Jax while they were married.

When she arrived at the door, she tapped softly. Then when there was no answer, she knocked furiously. Mike Corbin opened the door; shock registered on his face at the sight of Alexis. "Alexis, I don't...understand."

"You need to tell him." Alexis looked directly at Mike. She offered no expression for him to read.

"What are you talking about?"

"You need to tell him before someone else finds out."

"You're not making any sense, Alexis." Mike shook his head.

She lowered her voice, yet strengthened it at the same time. "You need to tell Sonny, that you left Janine Matthews because you found her with another man. The same man you found her with not long before Courtney was born...her father. You need to tell Sonny that you were involved with another woman in Bensonhurst and that you have reason to believe that Courtney's not his sibling, Taggert is."


	20. Chapter 20

_As promised… And thanks to ElizabethP for the heads up that I posted the wrong chapter._

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 20

Alexis stood before PH4 preparing to knock. Though she brought her hand to the door, she quickly lowered it and rubbed her stomach. "What am I going to tell your father?" she asked the baby resting inside her. "If I tell him the truth, he'll go ballistic. We'll have another replay of the launch party debacle and your father will end up in jail and everyone we love will be ruined in SUN N.Y. Not to mention Todd will end up wearing cement shoes. He's really not a bad man and I'm sure I can talk him out of blackmailing me if I give him some hope in seeing Starr and Jack. But, if I don't tell your dad the truth, he might give up on us."

"You talking to someone 'Lexis?" Sonny's voice crept up behind her. She jumped at the sound of his voice. Sonny's arms were filled with groceries; he maneuvered around her and opened the door. "When you called and said you wanted to see me, I took a chance that you hadn't eaten. I thought you could use a home cooked meal."

"I didn't plan on staying for dinner; I just wanted to talk...."

Sonny leaned his head to the side, the way attractive men did when purposely trying to be attractive. "Alexis, are you trying to tell me that you don't want Rigatoni Gambini with Tiramisu for dessert?"

"Of course I do, but we really need to talk."

"We've got all night," Sonny said, before disappearing into the kitchen. Less than 20 minutes later, Sonny reappeared with plates of the most appetizing food that Alexis had ever seen.

"What is it that this man can't do?" she thought to herself. Then she remembered: stay out of trouble with the law. As she thought of it, maybe Taggert being Sonny's brother wasn't such a bad thing. Alexis cleared her throat. "Sonny, I want you to know that I appreciate everything you've done. Te Amo is beautiful..."

"Not as beautiful as its inspiration." He pulled the dining room chair back for her to take a seat.

"But things are complicated, right now."

"Things are always complicated when it comes to us. Think about it. There was the shootout on Christmas Eve two years ago; Sorel kidnapped you and I blew up my apartment; your sister appeared; my sister appeared; your dead brother appeared; and to top it off, Carly reemerged from the dead..."

Alexis chuckled as she lifted the fork, ready to indulge in the meal Sonny placed before her. "Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

Sonny smiled a smile punctuated with dimples. "Alexis, my point is if we wait until things are easy for us, we ain't gonna happen. Besides when we are together, the rest of the world fades away. Don't forget Puerto Rico."

Alexis dropped her fork without taking a bite. "The problem is that there are more people to consider than you and me. And the rest of the world never really goes anywhere; we just forget about them for awhile." Alexis thought of John, Jane, Jerry and Jax. Todd had a lot of stuff on them and even on Sonny. Someone had even managed to get account numbers to his offshore accounts.

Sonny assumed Alexis was talking about the baby. "If you are worried about the baby, I promise I won't let my life come near this child..."

"Sonny, that's really not a promise you can make…besides it's not the baby..."

"Then who?" On cue, there was a knock on the door. Johnny opened the door and announced, "Todd and Starr Manning here to see Miss Davis." Alexis sank her head into her hands. Todd squeezed by Johnny dragging Starr with him. The little girl's presence kept Sonny from having Todd thrown out.

"Hey Alex, why are you chowing down with Vito when your stepdaughter is waiting for you..."

"I'm not her stepdaughter!" Starr yelled.

"Stepdaughter?" Sonny raised his eyebrows and looked at Alexis. "You married Manning?"

Todd ignored everyone in the room and made his way to Alexis. He picked up Alexis's fork, ready to dive into Sonny's homemade meal. Sonny knocked the fork out of Todd's hand.

Alexis peeked up at Sonny. "No, I'm not married to Todd."

"She means not yet." Todd snapped back.

"Alexis, you can't throw your life away on Manning."

Alexis stood and walked near Starr who was staring at a picture of Michael on the desk. "Sonny, I think we should talk about this later...like when Starr's not here."

Starr looked up innocently, her big eyes engulfing Alexis. She looked at Michael's picture once again. "Hey, you said you couldn't do the mommy thing, but this guy's got kids. Are you too good for me and Jack or do you think you're too good for my dad?"

"That's it both of you let's go." Alexis turned and marched a very pleased looking Todd and a slightly irritated Starr out of PH4. No sooner than the door closed behind them, Alexis heard a glass come crashing into it.

Back at Alexis's penthouse, Alexis tried to explain that her not wanting to marry Todd had nothing to do with Jack and Starr. Starr seemed skeptical, but she kept quiet. Soon both she and Alexis found themselves staring at an animated Todd who was pacing in front of the sofa.

He looked from Alexis to Starr back to Alexis. "Hey, hey look. This is gonna be great. You two can talk about girlie stuff." Both Alexis and Starr rolled their eyes at Todd. "OK Whatever. You can find something to talk about." He turned his attention to Starr. "What am I supposed to do? You want me in your life right?"

"Yes, but…"

"Well, if it weren't for Vicki, Blair wouldn't have let me have you for the weekend." Then he turned toward Alexis. "I need a wife to get my kids back and you seem like the best choice. You know how much my kids mean to me...and I know you like me."

"I wouldn't bet on it." Alexis rolled her eyes once more.

"You don't have to like me. You just gotta marry me."

"Good. As long as we're clear. I'm going to go upstairs and not like you from the privacy of _my_ room." Alexis stormed upstairs and practically knocked the door of its hinges as she slammed it behind her.

Starr gave Todd a disapproving look. "Good going, Dad."


	21. Chapter 21

_Hi all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm sorry this has taken so long to post. Thanks for continuing to read this story. As always replies are appreciated._

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 21

As if he hadn't had a bad enough day, Jax stopped by not ten minutes after Alexis left. Neither man liked the idea of working together; yet, they were each willing to make sacrifices to save Alexis from the likes of Manning. Dealing with Todd and his spawn was Sonny's sacrifice. Dealing with Stefan was Jax's.

Now, Sonny and Jax sat across from each other at Sonny's dining room table. Sonny watched in amazement as Jax devoured the Rigatoni meant for Alexis. "Candyboy, you act like you've never had a meal before." Sonny's chest poked out a bit. He loved it when people enjoyed his cooking.

Jax savored two final bites then wiped his mouth with the burgundy cloth napkin. "Let's just say the mystery is solved." He smiled mischievously.

"What are you talking about?" Sonny felt a bit impatient. Alexis had left with Todd less than an hour before and now Candyboy wanted to speak in riddles. Sonny drummed his fingers impatiently against the table.

Jax leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "For the life of me I couldn't figure out why any woman would leave me and be with you, Corinthos. After all, I'm taller, better-mannered, more handsome..."

"Don't kid yourself, Jas—per." Sonny over-pronounced to punctuate his objection. "Cooking ain't the only area where I excel." Sonny chuckled to himself.

Jax allowed his Aussie accent to pour out as he spoke, "Well, Corinthos, since you're such a ladies man, I guess you don't need my help."

Sonny dropped his head. Asking Jax for help was more painful than being shot. As Sonny swallowed his pride and began to apologize, Jax had mercy on him; knowing that Sonny Corinthos, the cockiest, most arrogant SOB he knew was going to apologize was enough. Jax found himself impressed at the hoops Sonny was willing to jump through to win Alexis. So, he simply cleared his throat and said, "Why don't we talk about Stefan? It is the reason I'm here." Sonny nodded slowly as Jax continued. "Stefan summoned me to Wyndemere today. He actually wanted me to encourage Alexis to marry Todd."

"Why?" Sonny's face gave no hint at his thoughts.

Jax took a sip of the glass of wine that had accompanied his meal. "He said something about Alexis having been exposed to too much danger when she was around you. He also believes that Alexis and Manning should be married since they are expecting a child."

Sonny stood and collected the plates from the table. "What's wrong with him? Doesn't he know what that guy has done? What he's capable of?" Sonny took the plates to the kitchen.

Jax called out. "He said that between the two of you, Todd was the lesser of two evils."

"You gotta be kiddin' me." Sonny scoffed, as he returned from the kitchen. "The guy is a convicted felon."

"Yeah, but as Stefan reminded me, Alexis was nearly killed when she was with you on Christmas Eve less than two years ago. Now that there's a littler Cassadine to worry about..."

Sonny walked to the bar and poured two drinks. He handed one two Jax, who simply waved him off. "So, Alexis told Stefan she was pregnant?"

"She didn't have to. Todd told him." Jax quickly downed the rest of his glass of wine. "According to Stefan, Todd told him that Alexis was pregnant just before he asked his permission to marry her."

"So, Manning was serious?" Sonny mumbled to himself. He felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. "He actually plans on marrying Alexis."

"You knew about that?" Jax scoffed.

"Yeah, I just didn't take him seriously." Sonny pounded his fist on the table. "Damn." His hands ran over his face until his fingers met his hair. Sonny thought for a moment. "Hey, Stefan knows you hate him because of Chloe. Why did he call you?"

"Apparently, Todd learned of our business deal and Stefan was concerned that we had teamed up to cause trouble for him and his family. Stefan agreed to speak to me on his behalf."

A jolt of anger passed through Sonny's body. He stood and walked to his brooding window. A large sigh escaped his lips. "You know what gets me, is I know Stefan is smarter than this. He must be up to something. "

Jax stood and began to walk to the door. "Tell you what Corinthos, you better figure out what it is before you're living across the hall from Alexis Davis-Manning." He closed the door leaving Sonny standing in silence.

Sonny remained standing at the window. He thought of Alexis, wondering when he had fallen so completely in love with her. Was it holding her close in Puerto Rico? Or was it when he was close to going over the edge that night in the PCPD jail cell? There was just something about her. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Alexis?" His heart leapt a little at the thought it might be her.

"Michael," the voice behind the door called out, "It's me."

The tiny feeling of joy disappeared the moment he heard Mike's voice. Whatever Mike wanted, Sonny was sure he was not in the mood for it now. With a long sigh, Sonny opened the door. "What is it, Mike?

"I need to talk to you...it's about family."

****

Alexis was furious. Furious that Todd had backed her into a corner. This man, whom she trusted was now using her loved ones against her. She wanted to hate him. She wished she could ask Sonny to have him beaten within an inch of his life. But the truth was she cared about him deeply, even when he was being a brat.

Before she made him leave, she convinced Todd to make a deal. Specifically, he could forget about a farce of a wedding if she could get him access to his kids without it. Secretly, she wondered if she couldn't use the next few weeks to get Todd to make some positive changes in his life. Changes that would secure him a place in his children's future.

The phone rang. Though Alexis had thrown him out of her Penthouse nearly an hour ago, she knew it was Todd on the other end of the line. "What do you want Todd?"

"I want to know how you plan on helping me keep my kids.

Alexis began to pace as she spoke on the phone. "Well, first you need to establish some roots. You have roots in Llanview..."

"I'm not going back to Llanview."

"Then you need to get a house, or an apartment or something stable."

Todd spoke quickly, nearly cutting Alexis' words off. "Done. What else?"

"You need to make sure that you have someone to look after Starr when you're not able to be around, especially when you're going to be spending late nights at the paper...and I don't mean me."

"Fine. What else?"

"Well, there is something else..." Alexis hedged. She knew Todd was going to hate this one, but it was most important. "But I'll speak to you about it in person...tomorrow morning." Alexis felt she had been tossed a life preserver when she heard the knock on the door. "Someone's at my door, I have to go." She hung up without waiting for Todd's reply.

Alexis opened the door without checking the peephole. It was something she had become accustomed to doing while living in a building with tighter security than Alcatraz. When she saw who and what was waiting on the other side, she nearly fainted.

Todd, Starr and a boatload of luggage stood before her. As Alexis watched in horror, Todd sang out gleefully, "Honey, we're home."

"Wh..Wh...What did you just say?" Alexis stammered. Her knees shook so hard she could feel it in her chest.

Todd gave Starr a gentle push through the doors of PH2. "I said, 'Honey, we're home.'"

Alexis thought of what Sonny might say if he stumbled upon the present conversation. She gently closed the door behind her.

"Besides," Todd continued, "you told me to put down some roots and find an apartment."

"I...I...I didn't mean here," she stammered once again as she staggered to her briefcase and began searching for a paper bag.

"Hey Starr," Todd called out, completely ignoring Alexis' state. "Why don't you run upstairs and see if your Aunt Moonbeam needs any help with Vito." Todd plopped on the sofa as Starr looked around helplessly. After a second or so, Todd realized that Starr had no idea where to find Kristina. "Oh yeah, Moonbeam is the second door on the left at the top of the stairs."

"Whatever." Starr shrugged and headed upstairs. Alexis watched Starr walk up the stairs as she allowed her own breathing to regulate. As her breathing slowed, her anger quickened.

Todd knew he had little time before Alexis caught her breath. So, he figured he better talk fast. "You told me to get roots, I got 'em. You told me to make sure someone could watch Starr when I was at the paper, Moonbeam can do it." He began to pace. "Don't forget our deal, you get me my kids your way or we get married and get them my way."

"Aren't you forgetting," Alexis sighed, "this is only a three bedroom apartment." She braced herself against the desk, since her knees still refused to provide stability.

"Simple, one room for Starr, one room for Moonbeam and one room for us." He noticed how green she looked. "Would you relax," Todd sat beside her on the sofa. "Moonbeam lives with the Musical Moron half of the time and I don't sleep the other half. So, if you're worried about making any more mistakes...."

"I am not at all worried about that!" She snapped at him.

"Whatever. It makes sense for me to move in here; after all we're engaged. And considering that you're knocked up, no one is going to believe you're old-fashioned."

"Engaged?" Alexis's voice cracked. Alexis walked to the sofa and sank into it. She leaned her elbows on her knees in the airplane-sickness position.

"Yeah, because if you can't get me my kids; we're getting hitched. No judge is going to buy us being married if we don't have an engagement."

An odd calm fell over Alexis. The kind of calm that only came when she knew she could frustrate Todd as much as he frustrated her. She sat up straight. "You're right."

"I am?"

"Yes. If you live here it will make it easier for me to make sure you get to your therapy sessions in the morning."

"Therapy? Nobody said nothing about me going to some shrink." Todd hopped up and began pacing again. "I don't need some weirdo poking his nose in my business."

Alexis leaned back into the sofa and curled her legs under her. It was something she had learned from Kristina. "I'm sorry. I just thought you'd do anything to make sure you were permanently involved in your children's lives, but I guess I was wrong..."

Todd plopped on the sofa next to Alexis. "You don't play fair."

She offered him a half-smile as a peace offering. "You wouldn't know fair if it bit you in the ..."

"Watch it," he cautioned, "my kid's upstairs." He smiled back at her.

"I was going to say, eye, Mr. Manning."

Todd stood and headed toward the stairwell, "Whatever you say, Alex. Whatever you say."

***

Mike stood in the doorway facing Sonny. "Aren't you going to invite me in, Michael?"

Sonny allowed a long sigh to escape. "Am I going to be sorry?" His had leaned against the top of the doorframe.

Mike dropped his head and said, "Probably." Sonny moved away and allowed Mike inside. A few minutes later, the two men sat facing each other on the dark, velvet sofa. "I don't know where to begin Michael; it's about Courtney."

Alarm appeared on Sonny's face. "Did A.J. hurt her?"

Mike took his hand and waved away Sonny's concerns. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just when Courtney and Janine came to town, they opened up a can of worms that I wasn't prepared to deal with. You see, when I was with Janine, she wasn't exactly faithful. I knew it before Courtney was born and I left when I discovered that she hadn't stopped being unfaithful."

Sonny's eyes held Mike's intensely. "What are you saying, Mike?"

"I'm saying Courtney is not your sister. She doesn't know it; I never had the heart to tell her. Her father is a man I caught Janine with the day I took off. Considering all of the things I had done to Adella, it's kind of ironic that I was with a woman like Janine...." Mike's voice trailed off when he realized that Sonny wasn't paying any attention to him. Instead, he smiled a peculiar smile. "What is it, Michael?"

Sonny exhaled strongly. He ran his hands over his face and into his hair. "I don't know. It all makes sense, now. When I looked at Alexis and Kristina, they were so much alike: looks, mannerisms, rambling." Sonny chuckled as he thought of the two women he considered to be his family. "They were different, but the same, you know?" Mike nodded. Sonny leaned back and then looked at Mike once more. "I never got that with Courtney, it never felt like that."

"I'm sorry, Michael, I should have told you from the start...."

Sonny cut him off before he could finish. "Don' worry about it. What you did was pretty stand-up. Courtney needed a father and you were there for her. I'm proud of you." Mike shifted uncomfortably at Sonny's words. "Now, I'm not going to tell her the truth if you don't want me to. But if you don't tell her, you expose her to the danger of being my sister, unnecessarily." Mike nodded. Water formed around the rims of his eyes when he felt Sonny pat him on the back.

"Michael, there's something else. I don't know how to say this, but back when we lived in Brooklyn..." Mike's words were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Sonny stood and stretched. He looked at his watched and realized that it was late. "Hey, Pop, whoever it is, I'll get rid of them." Sonny peered through the hole and was surprised to see Alexis standing outside the door, looking around nervously. He opened the door. "Alexis, hey, come in."

Alexis didn't see Mike until she was fully inside. Immediately, she turned and faced the door. "This is a bad time. I'll come back."

Sonny gave Mike a look, which pled with Mike to make himself scarce. Sonny's warmth had already caused Mike's courage to evaporate, so he gladly took the hint. "Michael, whatever Alexis has to say looks important. We can talk later."

Relieved, Sonny nodded. He opened the door for Mike and patted him on the back once more. Each man said goodbye then Sonny closed the door.

Judging by the scene she witnessed, Alexis guessed that Mike hadn't told Sonny about Taggert. "Everything OK?" She examined Sonny with her eyes.

"Yeah." Sonny led Alexis to the sofa where he sat with Mike a few minutes before. "So, tell me," he said, as they both sat, "was Mike right? Do you need to talk to me about something important?"

Alexis nodded. She braced herself for the aftershock that was sure to follow. "Todd and I…Todd and Starr have moved in next door." Sonny looked as though Alexis' words were Greek. She continued while she still had courage. "Todd and I, we're engaged."


	22. Chapter 22

_Hi all,_

_You asked for it and here it is: the next Chapter of SUN N.Y. I wrote this back in 2004 or 2006 and as I was rereading/editing it, I realized it felt a bit Pollyana-ish; so, be kind. __ Thanks for hanging in there during the lengthy delays between updates. I promise I'll post the next one soon. – Replies are always appreciated. Thanks, K._

SUN N.Y. - Chapter 22

"I'm engaged to Todd."

Sonny felt the heat flood his face at Alexis' words. _Alexis is engaged to Manning. _ His first impulse was to throw something. However, fear stopped him. If he lost control now, he might not regain it. So, he stood and calmly walked to the window. "Then why are you here, Alexis?" Sonny's voice was icy cold, devoid of emotion.

Alexis watched him tentatively from the sofa, struggling for what or how much to say next. Watching Sonny in pain was more than she could take. She felt her body rise from the sofa and soon found herself standing very closely behind him. "I'm here because I'm in love with you."

Sonny's face softened. Alexis had shocked him just as much with these words as with her engagement announcement. Sonny rubbed his hand hard against the side of his face as if he was trying to rub the confusion from his mind. "If you're in love with me, why are you engaged to Manning?"

Alexis left Sonny standing at the window. "Well, if you would quit brooding for a minute I'll tell you." By the frown on Sonny's face, her attempt at lightening the situation failed miserably. Still, he managed to join her back on the sofa. "I'm not going to marry Todd. I just need to help Todd get custody of his children; not full custody, but joint custody. He needs to know that they will always be in his life and they need to know that he always be in theirs."

Sonny stood and walked to the bar where he began to pour himself a drink. "I don't understand why you need to be engaged to Manning to do that."

"I don't...not really, Todd thinks that if the world thinks we are getting married, he'll look more stable and a judge will give him custody of Starr and Jack. I want to help him look suitable to a judge on his own, so that he won't have to find an instant bride to see his kids. If I act like I'm going along with what he's planning, it will be easier for me to help rehabilitate him."

Sonny left the drink untouched on the bar and joined Alexis on the sofa. He peered into her chocolate brown eyes, knowing that even though he was furious, he could lose himself in them. "What's he got on you Alexis?"

"I don't want to see him jerked around the way Carly jerked you around last year with Michael. Children shouldn't be used as pawns." She fidgeted. Her head dropped a bit.

"You're willing end us, so that Manning can get his kids?" Sonny tilted his head and searched Alexis' face for an answer. He took her hands in his. "Do you really expect me to believe that you would sacrifice everything without Manning having something on you?"

One thing Alexis could not do was lie to Sonny. The fact was that there were two truths. Blackmail was part of the reason she was going along with Todd, but the truth was she cared about him. She had seen the way he was with Starr and she knew that losing her would cost him too much. "I don't want to end us; I just want to put us on hold. Carly's been out of the Penthouse less than two weeks. You could use some time to put your past in the past." Sonny began to object, but Alexis continued. "I need to put your past in the past. Todd and I are friends every bit as much as I was friends with Jax and Chloe was friends with Ned..."

"You weren't sleeping with Candyboy when you married him."

"And Todd and I aren't having sex now."

Alexis' denial made Sonny cringe. It reminded him that Alexis and Todd had been intimate. It also reminded him of the baby. "You don't really think Manning is going to let you walk away from him and take his child when this is done."

Alexis sighed deeply. "Todd won't be an issue. He knows that I would never keep a child from his or her father, not after the way I grew up with Mikkos." Once again, Alexis fought back tears. Sonny lifted his hands to her eyes, ready to wipe the tears when they fell. Alexis spoke softly. "Sonny, the truth is: I owe Todd. When I let you walk away from me, I was devastated. He helped keep me from going under." Alexis saw the pain in Sonny's eyes. "I owe him Sonny, but I love you. Only you. "

Sonny leaned in and touched her forehead with his own. "I don't like this."

"It won't be forever." Alexis stood and began to walk to the door. Sonny followed closely behind her. She turned suddenly and found herself pinned between Sonny's arms and the door.

"Do I at least get to kiss you?" Sonny purred seductively.

Alexis began to chuckle. "No way. The last time you kissed me in this place I wound up learning about the unique pleasures of sleeping on satin sheets." _Among other things._ Alexis thought as she unknowingly rubbed her stomach.

"Just one kiss?"

"Promise to be good."

"You doubt me counselor?" Sonny chuckled.

"Absolutely."

As Sonny leaned in, Alexis' eyes fluttered shut. She braced herself for the current of electricity that passed between them when their lips touched. Sonny moved in close enough for her to feel his lips nearly graze hers. Then, unexpectedly, he planted a very chaste kiss on her forehead.

"What was that?" Alexis demanded.

Sonny laughed a devious laugh. "It would be wrong for me to kiss another man's fiancee."

Alexis slipped under Sonny's arm and opened the door. "I hate you," she smiled.

"Right," he smiled, flashing his lethal dimples. Alexis made her way through the door to the hallway. Sonny stepped outside of his Penthouse and watched her leave. Before she had gone too far, he called out. "Hey, Alexis..."

"Yes," She turned and offered her own dimpled smile.

"Te amo."


	23. Chapter 23

SUN N.Y. –Chapter 23

It had been nearly two weeks since Alexis had "come clean" with Sonny about the reason for her engagement to Todd. Two weeks of longing looks from across the hall or in restaurants. Two weeks of sleepless nights. What it certainly had not been was two weeks of touching. Sonny had held firm to his promise not to kiss another man's fiancee, secretly hoping that Alexis' unfulfilled desire would force her away from Todd and into his own arms.

For his part, Todd had been nothing less than a gentleman. He made certain he was working late on the nights Kristina stayed at the Penthouse or he pretended to have fallen asleep reading Starr a story, in the recliner next to her bed. At times when Alexis watched Todd with Starr, she wondered if Sonny had stayed with Carly whether she and Todd could have built a life together. Usually those thoughts were shaken when Alexis realized Todd was as big of a commitment-phobe as she was.

Or so it seemed. Starr had picked up on the looks of disappointment on her father's face when Alexis was gawking at the Don as Starr affectionately now called him. Despite Starr's best efforts to hate Alexis, she was beginning to like her. Sure, she burned everything she attempted to cook, leaving remnants of charred food that only her father would eat, but she was kind of fun. Maybe it was the stories of Russian Royalty banished to Greece or the tales of secret passageways. Maybe it was the way Alexis argued with her dad, keeping him in line without saying things to make him sad. She still wanted her folks together or for her dad to reunite with her stepmom, but if her dad wanted Alexis, she was not going to let the Don ruin things for him.

So, that morning while Alexis was on the phone debating something with a client, Starr slipped out of the door and headed to Penthouse 4. Sonny was in the middle of finalizing plans for that evening's opening of Te Amo with Jax when Johnny knocked on the door and announced that a young woman was there to see him. Sonny assumed that it was Kristina, once again imploring him to act quickly and win her sister back. To his surprise, he was greeted by the glare of a pint-sized female version of his newest-nemesis.

"I need to talk to you." Starr stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "I know you're trying to steal my dad's girlfriend and I don't like it."

It took all of Sonny's self-control, not chuckle at the little girl's determination. He wondered if Alexis's little one would inherit such a strong personality. Sonny smiled, "Starr, I can assure you that I am not trying to take anything that belongs to your father. Miss Davis and I are friends and I am her landlord...."

"Save it for the courtroom, Corinthos." Starr snapped causing Sonny to make a peculiar face. Starr decided she should soften her tone. "Look, why don't you just find someone else? I mean I'm sure you're nice enough, even though I'd suggest easing up on the hair gel..."

Starr's apology was interrupted by the sound of laughter. She crossed her arms in front of herself and questioned to the unseen possessor of the laugh, "What's so funny?" Jax rose from the desk and walked to where Starr stood. That's when it happened. Starr fell in love.

"It's about time someone put this guy in his place. I'm Jasper Jax...."

Starr's face became flushed. Her knees quivered. "I...I....I'm Starr Manning." She kicked her right leg behind the left and if Sonny didn't know better, he would swear that he saw her blushing.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Manning." Jax extended his hand. Starr simply nodded then turned to leave.

Sonny shook his head in disgust as he closed the door. No sooner than the door was closed, Sonny scoffed. "You are pathetic, Candyboy, flirting with an 11-year old." Sonny shook his head in mock disgust.

"You're just jealous because she likes me better, Corinthos. But you have bigger things to worry about, like how to keep Alexis from becoming her stepmother." Jax had no idea that Alexis' engagement to Todd was a pretense and Sonny had no plans to tell him, mainly because Sonny still didn't believe Alexis had let him in on the whole truth.

"Look Jasper, I know you believe women should be told what to do, but Alexis is smart; she'll come to her senses before she comes close to marrying Manning." Sonny ran his fingers through his hair. He then walked to the table and began straightening papers that were awry on the table.

"You know Corinthos, when I was growing up, my mother used to tell me the story of the tortoise and the hare. While, you're playing it cool, the tortoise is over there with the woman you love."

Starr returned to PH2 to find a worried Alexis and an angry Todd. "Where have you been?" Todd demanded.

"Falling in love," Starr answered, giddy with excitement. She titled her head to the side as she remembered her brief meeting with Jax. She opened her eyes to find a confused Alexis and an even angrier Todd. "Dad, can we talk about it later?" She looked in Alexis' direction to give her father a hint.

Todd shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure, since you're gonna be grounded until you're 20, we'll talk about it when Alex and I get back from the party."

"You and Alex? What about me? I'm sure _he's_ going to be there. You promised I could go for a little while." And he had. In fact, Alexis made special arrangements with Sonny so that she could come early with Starr and leave before alcohol was served. In all honesty, she expected Todd to be working. Starr plopped down hard on the sofa.

Alexis looked at Starr and Todd in the midst of their standoff and for a moment imagined Sonny in a similar standoff with their daughter or son. Starr's face held a thousand sorrows and her delicate condition threatened to break Alexis's heart. Alexis took a deep breath, "Starr it's just that we were worried about you....but I'm sure you've learned your lesson, haven't you?" On cue, Starr nodded. "Todd, she has to go back to Blair the day after tomorrow; can't she just have a little fun?"

Todd began to pace in a way that only Todd could with his back tilted back and his shoulders stretched wide. "Fine, I can't win against both of you." And it was at that moment that Starr decided that Alexis was the coolest woman she knew.

Alexis headed upstairs to take a nap before the opening of Te Amo. She had a feeling that the night would be exhausting. Te Amo would be a reminder of everything she and Sonny could have shared in Puerto Rico and all that they still might. Then there was the raging testosterone that flailed whenever Sonny and Todd were within three feet of each other. To top it all off, Todd had been acting strangely by doing everything from leaving a beautiful gown for her to wear tonight to going as far as using manners. Sleep was definitely what she needed to keep a clear head.

No sooner than Alexis was out of sight, Starr admitted that she had gone across the hall to tell Sonny to stay away from Alexis. And suddenly Starr went from being in the doghouse to having her allowance doubled.

A few hours later, Kristina sat on the bed and watched as Alexis stood in front of a mirror piling Starr's hair into a sophisticated updo. Kristina smiled as she envisioned Alexis doing the same thing for her own daughter someday. Looking at Alexis with the smiling little girl, she was beginning to understand why Alexis was seemingly throwing away a family with her soulmate to be with a man like Todd Manning.

"Alex, do you think he'll be there tonight?" Starr looked at herself in the mirror, absolutely certain that she looked 10 years older.

"Who's that Starr?" Alexis continued to strategically place hairpins in Starr's hair. Alexis chuckled, "Actually, I'd be careful saying anything in front of Kristina." "Big mouth," Alexis mouthed the words into the mirror.

"I saw that," Kristina yelled from the bed and tossed a small pillow at Alexis. "Besides, I'm still keeping a whopper of a secret."

"See what I mean?" Alexis smiled at Starr and patted her on the back.

"His name is Jasper Jacks and I'm going to marry him one day."

Alexis chuckled as she thought, "been there done that." She smiled at the girl before she added, "I know him pretty well, I could put in a word for you."

"Really?" Starr sang out gleefully. "Thanks." Starr turned and headed toward the door. "You're awesome Alex, no wonder my dad loves you."

"What did you say?" Before Alexis could stop herself, she began to hyperventilate until she landed in a heap on the floor


	24. Chapter 24

_I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I am going to do my best to have this story marked complete before the end of the year. And thus, I'll be posting two chapters tonight. Hope you enjoy. _

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 24

Shortly after Kristina revived her, Alexis nearly toppled over again, this time down the stairs, at the sight of Todd waiting for her at the bottom. It was odd enough that he had left the dress for her to wear. It was an elegant choice, but still an odd-Todd thing to do. But now, with the way he fidgeted and his hand behind his back, he sort of resembled an overgrown schoolboy waiting for his prom date. Starr's words echoed through her mind, _That's why my dad loves you._

"Shake it off, Alexis," she unintentionally said out loud.

"Hey," Todd hollered up at her, "Are you gonna stay up there and talk to yourself all day or are we going to the Mob boy's party?"

_Whew_, she thought,_ Same old Todd_. And suddenly she felt calmer. Maybe Starr was wrong about her dad's feelings. Alexis proceeded down the stairs until she reached Todd. As she descended, she noticed that he continued to keep his hand behind his back. "You know, Todd if we weren't too old, I'd swear you were taking me to prom. That's not a corsage behind your back, is it?" she teased.

"Whatever." Todd scoffed, only to be interrupted by Starr coming from the kitchen.

"Did you give it to her yet?" Starr bounced next to Todd's side.

Alexis teased, "Ah," she sighed, "you did get me a corsage." Playfully, she cozied up to Todd's side, which only sent him into a frenetic pace. He began strutting back and forth on the small section of carpet.

"I...I was thinking, Alex. If we're supposed to be getting married you should have a ring."

"You have got to be kidding me," Alex sighed. The last thing Sonny would want to see on his opening night was Todd's ring on her finger. Then again, the last thing she had wanted to see two days after she and Sonny had parted ways after Carly's return, was Carly trudging down the stairs in one of Sonny's shirts. Maybe some things couldn't be helped.

Starr interrupted, "Don't you want to see it, I picked it out." What Starr failed to mention was that getting a ring was her idea. Someone needed to send that Corinthos guy a message to keep off their turf.

The revelation that Starr actually helped Todd pick out a ring nearly knocked Alexis off her feet. She knew that Starr was beginning to take to her, but after Alexis's experience with Brooke Lynn, she never expected to win anyone's child over, particularly not the formidable Miss Manning. The thought brought tears to her eyes.

"Give me a break, Alex." Todd barked, softly. "You should at least see the ring before you ruin your makeup and make us late." Todd moved his arm from behind his back and opened his hand. In the middle of his palm lay a beautiful princess cut diamond engagement ring.

Starr grinned. "The lady at the store said it was a princess-cut ring. So, we knew it would be perfect because you're a princess. "

Alexis's war with the waterworks was lost. After taking the ring from Todd she headed upstairs to put on a fresh coat of makeup. Krisitna agreed to go ahead to the party with the Starr, so that she might have time to interact with her true love...Jasper Jacks.

No sooner than Kristina and Starr arrived, Starr zeroed in on Sonny standing by the bar. Sonny smiled as he walked over. He knew their presence meant Alexis must be near. Sonny gave Kristina and Starr his most dimple-punctuated smile. "You two look beautiful."

Starr rolled her eyes, "Whatever....You gotta date?"

"Starr!!!" Kristina scolded.

"Sorry, Aunt Moonbeam." Starr knew Alexis would kill her if he saw how she was behaving, but Alexis wasn't there and she was willing to do what she had to in order to protect her Dad's interests. "I was just curious."

Hearing Starr call Kristina, 'Moonbeam,' made Sonny chuckle.

Starr continued on, directing her comments to Sonny, "So, I guess you're wondering where my stepmom is."

"Not really and she's not your stepmom," Sonny was not about to let an eleven-year old get the upper-hand.

"Not yet. She and my dad are getting dressed; they sent us ahead."

"OK, Starr that's enough." Kristina scolded. She turned to Sonny to apologize. "Sonny, it's not what you think...I don't know what to think, myself."

"Kristina, Alexis is a grown woman, what she does is none of my business.....Why don't you go ahead and get warmed up? The band is waiting for you." Kristina nodded and headed toward the stage that sat in the middle of the main dining room. Sonny fought the pang of jealousy that twined in his stomach. Alexis told him this was some kind of plan. She had gone so far as to tell him that she wasn't sleeping with Todd. She had never lied to him before; she wouldn't start now. All he had to do was stay calm. First things first, he had to get rid of the brat. Sonny yelled toward the terrace, "Hey Candyboy, your date's here."

A few seconds later, Jax appeared looking very handsome in a black tux. Looking at him was the only thing that could make Starr stop glaring at Sonny. "Miss Manning," Jax smiled, "You are simply stunning."

"Th…th…thank you," Starr blushed.

"Why don't you show her around?" Sonny said in a voice that barely hid his annoyance. Jax was quick to take a hint and immediately removed Starr from Sonny's sight. Sonny turned back to the bar and summoned the bartender. "Give me a scotch on the rocks."

"That's funny," he heard Alexis's voice, "I thought tonight you'd be drinking rum."

Sonny turned to find Alexis standing alone before him in all her splendor. She wore a floor-length, black strapless dress and a white gardenia in her hair. Her hair was loose and wavy against her bare shoulders.

And as usual she smelled amazing.

He smiled, though his knees wanted to buckle. He remembered Sonny Corinthos was always calm, always cool. With his right hand, he raised his glass in the air. "Welcome to Paradise, Alexis."

Alexis blushed as Sonny fully admired her from not so far. In true Corinthos fashion, he undressed her with his eyes, giving Alexis the distinct impression that he'd use more than his eyes if given the opportunity.

Sonny sat his drink on the bar without taking a sip. "So, where's your fiancé?" Sonny's voice was laced with more than sarcasm. Alexis suspected it was jealousy. It left her feeling a bit empowered, especially when she thought back to the way he had teased and flirted with her before their fateful night together. More than anything, she wanted to make him break his promise not to kiss 'another man's fiancé.'

"Any reason you'd like to know?" Alexis walked very close to where Sonny stood.

Sonny smiled slyly, "I was just thinking that if I were him, I wouldn't want to leave my beautiful fiancée in the company of another man."

"Todd needed to stop by the paper. He's very important, you know." Alexis gave Sonny her sexiest smile, which he reflected back perfectly and accompanied with a nod. "So," she continued, "I promised to keep an eye on Starr. Where is she?"

"Candyboy is giving her a tour."

"Oh." A mischievous smile spread across Alexis' face. Slowly, she lifted her hands to Sonny's tie and straightened it. She gently picked imaginary lint from Sonny's tuxedeo lapels. She allowed her hands to run over his shoulders and he began to feel his pulse race. Alexis was toying with him and he was helpless. So, before she could remove her hands, he gently grabbed her wrists.

"Alexis," Sonny purred, "what are you doing?"

Alexis tilted her head to the side innocently, "I just thought you might need a woman's touch."

"You have no idea," Sonny smirked, determined not to let her have the upper hand. "But you know me, I'm a powerful man, too. I can hire any number of people to take care of any immediate needs I might have. Besides, I don't think your fiancé would appreciate you...," Sonny cleared his throat, "fulfilling my needs." Sonny's chuckle was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"I am inclined to concur with Mr. Corinthos, Alexis." Stefan asked in his most head-of-the-family tone. "In fact, I am sure Mr. Manning would be quite unappreciative of such a display."

Alexis pulled her hands back from Sonny. Stefan could always manage to make her feel like a 6-year old girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Stefan, it's not what you think. I was just..."

"Showing Mr. Corinthos your engagement ring?" Stefan raised an eyebrow to punctuate his disbelief.

Even with all their flirting, somehow, Sonny had missed the ring that now seemed to gleam on her left finger. His eyes narrowed. "When did you get that?"

Before Alexis could answer, Todd, who seemingly appeared from nowhere responded, "I gave it to her earlier. You like it? I know Alex did, she got all teary-eyed." Then in a move that threatened to send Sonny and Alexis to the floor, Todd walked directly to Stefan and extended his right hand. As they shook hands, Todd pulled Stefan into a partial embrace. "Stef, I didn't know you were coming."

Stefan nearly had to force the words from his mouth. This needed to look good in order for his plan to succeed. "Always a pleasure, Mr. Manning. I was just telling my sister that her ring is exquisite."

"You two know each other?" Alexis' mouth gaped open. "You let him call you, Stef?"

"Yep," Todd shoved his hand in his pockets and leaned back. "We're old pals."

Stefan rubbed his hand along his goatee. "I wouldn't exactly call Mr. Manning and myself friends; however, I do have the highest regard for him. While it is true that I was less than pleased to learn that you and he were expecting a child outside of the bonds of marriage, my worries were assuaged when Mr. Manning made his intentions known."

Alexis's head spun with the information overload. Stefan knew she was pregnant? He somehow approved of a marriage with Todd? How was it that Todd and Stefan were acquainted? Suddenly she felt very light-headed. Then she felt Todd wrap his arm around her waist, just in time to keep her from falling. She placed her heavy head against his shoulder. Sonny began to steam.

On cue, Starr approached with Jax in tow. "Dad, what's wrong with Alex?"

"Alexis, what is it?" Jax called out.

"I'm fine." Alexis steadied herself. She desperately wanted to shield Starr from what was threatening to become an ugly scene. "I'm fine sweetie. My brother just gave me a bit of a shock."

Starr turned to face Stefan. "You're Alex's brother. Are you a prince or something?"

"My name is Stefan. My title is not of any importance as it is my nephew, Nikolas, who is the true Cassadine prince. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. Manning." Stefan bowed his head a bit, as one should always do for a lady.

"Wow, he's really Goth." As she turned to her dad, Starr's eyes widened with excitement. She turned back to Stefan, "If Alex marries my Dad will I be a princess?"

"Well, I suppose we could find a title befitting a young woman of your stature. Definitely, something that will make everyone bow whenever you're in the room." Stefan winked. Starr squealed with glee at the notion. However, her fun was soon spoiled when Maxie arrived to take her back to PH2 for a boring evening of childhood games. After nearly making Todd blow a gasket by blowing Jax a goodbye kiss, Starr was on her way.

Meanwhile, Alexis pretended to love some song she had never heard before, an effective excuse which got Todd away from Sonny and onto the dance floor.

"You know Alex, dancing wasn't part of the deal. Don't try to sue me for bruising your toes."

"Nice try Manning, but I'm not going to let you get out of this one that easily. How do you know my brother? Why did you tell him I was pregnant? What's he got on you?"

"I met your brother before I met you. One of my reporters was doing a story on rich, powerful people. I'll explain all of that later. I told him you were pregnant because I thought he deserved to know he was going to have a new niece or nephew. Even though, I gotta tell you, nieces are much better than nephews. My nephew is a total putz that dated my ex-wife, Tea."

"Hey," Alexis cut him off, "don't try to change the subject by rambling too much. I invented that tactic. What does Stefan have on you and what does he want from you? How much trouble are you in?"

"About half as much trouble as just walked through the door." Todd sighed, as he looked at Corinthos and friend.

"What now?" Alexis furrowed her brow.

"Sonny's date....is my ex-wife."


	25. Chapter 25

_Here's another chapter…hope you enjoy._

SUN N.Y. –Chapter 25

Alexis and Todd stood motionless on the floor where they had been dancing. "That's Blair? She's beautiful." Alexis marveled. As she spoke, Alexis couldn't help notice as the pretty blonde draped herself completely on Sonny. Alexis smiled, as she felt only the teeniest pang of jealousy. She expected that Sonny would up the ante and do his best to make her jealous.

Though Todd was not much of a dancer, he managed to spin Alexis so that her back was to the door. "Careful Alex, if you stare any harder she'll think you're checking her out." Todd chuckled.

Once again, Alexis maneuvered their bodies so that they faced Blair and Sonny. Blair sat on a stool at the bar with her thousand inch legs crossed. Sonny gaped at her legs as if they were popsicles on a hot summer's day. "It's just...when you talked about her you never mentioned that she was beautiful."

"Well, unlike mob boy, I'm not all that impressed with some chick's ability to slide into spandex. The thing that impressed me about Blair was that she was tough, you know, like you....except, you're smarter and a lot less shady."

Alexis chuckled. She cupped Todd's face with her palm, which caused him to look at her a bit quizzically. "What?" he asked, his confusion was evident.

"You might not believe this, but you're actually pretty charming sometimes Mr. Manning."

Never one to take a compliment well, he snarked, "Whatever."

Blair and Sonny sat at the bar, each growing more incensed at the lack of reaction from Todd and Alexis. Instead of storming over angrily as Sonny and Blair had calculated, they had the gall to be laughing. "I thought you said Manning would be jealous." Sonny said, flatly.

"Don't blame me, it's always worked before. Your girlfriend has him under some kind of spell."

Sonny sighed loudly. "Maybe it's time to give them something to worry about.....You dance."

"You know it."

With a quick shuffle of his feet, Sonny was on his way to the stage where Kristina was ready to take her place. Sonny whispered something in her ear which caused her to step back offstage. The band cranked up a spicy salsa number. He then made his way back to Blair.

Sonny and Blair began to dance. Blair moved her body seductively around Sonny's. His hands glided up one of her hips and down the other. Alexis fought the urge to cut in or cut Blair, both of which were tempting notions. Instead, Todd led Alexis from the floor and onto the nearby terrace.

"Ahh, fresh air. If we hadn't come out here, I think I would have gone medieval on your ex-wife." Todd laughed at the expression from his 'stuffed-shirt' fiancée. "Why are you laughing? Considering my family's background going medieval is second nature." Alexis tilted her head to examine Todd's rageless face. "You're being remarkably calm."

Todd leaned his elbows back against a nearby railing. "Yeah, the whacked quack you sent me to..."

"His name is Kevin."

"I know. I just hate that name. Anyway, KEV-in, told me that one of my problems was reacting when Blair pushed my buttons. He said, that I needed to think stuff through before striking out. "Todd attempted to act nonchalant when discussing therapy. However, his face showed the discomfort the sessions had caused.

"I'm impressed." Alexis smiled, warmly. "But if you knew that Blair couldn't get to you, why did you say there was going to be trouble when she walked through the door?"

Todd laughed out loud. "I meant you were in trouble. The last time _she_ got jealous, she pushed my other ex-wife out of a second-floor window."

Alexis sank against the railing next to Todd. She looked to the heavens. "Is there a man alive without a psychotic ex-wife?"

Todd's laughter joined her own. He quieted, then said, "Don't worry Alex, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Back at you, Todd. I mean that, no matter what happens between us. As for you're ex-wife, I make no promises. " Alexis leaned her head against Todd's shoulder. "You do know I want to be with Sonny, right?"

"Yeah, but you're going to have to throw out your high heels 'cause if you don't you're going to make him look like Mini Me."

Despite her best efforts she began to laugh. After a few seconds of silence ensued, she spoke. "I'm glad we're able to stay friends."

Todd raised an eyebrow. "But, I thought you said, 'we weren't friends.'"

"Shut up." Alexis laughed.

At the end of their sexy salsa, Sonny and Blair noticed that not only had Alexis and Todd stopped paying attention, but they'd left the room. Blair marched back to the bar where she was joined by Jasper Jacks. Sonny headed to the terrace. Todd and Alexis continued to stand side by side. " 'Lexis, can I talk to you?"

Alexis saw the fire in Sonny's eyes. She loved the feeling of having the upper hand after the stunt he'd attempted to pull with Blair. She chalked it up to her Cassadine blood. "I don't know, are you sure you're not too tired from dancing." Todd pretended to be uninterested.

"Alexis, this is important."

"I..I.. don't know."

"Alex, it's fine. Talk to the Mambo King. I have to take care of something."

Alexis and Sonny watched as Todd left. Alexis pretended to be exasperated, still secretly loving that she had beaten Sonny at his own game. She went in for the kill. "Sonny, you just ran my fiancé off. This better be good."

Sonny took her by the hand and led her to a secluded portion of the terrace. Without saying a word, Sonny brought his mouth crashing down on Alexis's. With one hand on each side of her face, kissed her passionately. He didn't stop until oxygen was a necessity for both of them. He pulled back slowly and looked at Alexis, who was obviously feeling a bit week in the knees. "Good enough for you?"

"Um, yes… that does it for me," She sighed audibly. A sly smile crept onto her face. Sonny traced a line along Alexis' jawbone with his index finger. "What happened to not touching another man's fiancee? Aren't you breaking your own rules?" she giggled.

Sonny licked his lips seductively. "You like me when I break the rules." Once again, he moved to kiss her.

"Not so fast Mr. Smiley-face." Alexis flirted with him the same way she had done on her first day in PH2. "I need to finish something old before I start something new. Wait here?" Sonny nodded. Alexis kissed him on the cheek then headed off to look for Todd.


	26. Chapter 26

_Hi everyone, I'm doing my best to finish all of my stories. For anyone reading Stronger Than Pride, there should be an update within the next couple of days. If you're reading this, please let me express my gratitude for your patience. Thanks for reading and replying. Blessed and Happy New Year to everyone._

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 26

Alexis was going to put an end to this engagement nonsense whether Todd liked it or not. She had a whole new game plan. First, she was going to be with Sonny if that was what he still wanted when he learned the baby was his. Second, she planned to reassure Todd that she would help him get joint custody in any honest, legal way she could. But before she could do any of this she had to find Todd.

Todd stood alone near the kitchen entrance of Te Amo. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. He was going to be unselfish. Him, unselfish, the thought caused a cold chill to run up his spine. Still Alexis was his friend, even in spite of the fact that he was blackmailing her. Kevin's words echoed in his mind, _You have to do right by the people who care about you._ "Aw shut up , will you doc?" Todd mumbled out loud.

"Are you speaking to an apparition, Mr Manning?" came Stefan's voice. "Or is it a figment of you imagination?"

Todd rolled his eyes. He walked up to Stefan, his arms swaying and his back arched in quintessential Manning form. "Hey, look Stef. This thing with Alex and me is over."

Stefan laughed a sinister laugh. He moved to stand toe to toe with Todd. "Are you getting cold feet Mr. Manning?"

Alexis was exhausted. She was going to check the kitchen, a safe bet for Todd, and if he wasn't there, she'd head back to the central part of the club. As she headed to the kitchen's entrance, she saw Todd...talking to Stefan. She slipped behind a nearby pillar to eavesdrop because their early conversation had made her curious. The two men were so immersed in testosterone that they failed to notice that they weren't alone.

"Look, Stef. I'm not getting cold feet. I...I...I...I'm just trying to do the right thing here, OK?" Todd's pacing began again. "You're sister's obviously got it bad for Corinthos. If I try to make her stay with me. She's gonna hate me. And the last thing I want is for Alex to hate me."

Stefan smiled broadly. "Touching sentiment Mr. Manning. I can see that I made the right choice in picking you as Alexis' husband. Speaking of choices, you don't have one. " Stefan paused for dramatic effect. He rubbed his hand against his slight goatee. "It would cause me great displeasure to have to inform the Llanview police about a yacht explosion that caused the death of Mr. Guy Armitage. Curiously, they were never able to solve that case. Perhaps it was because a certain publisher dressed as his romantic rival before he planted a bomb aboard the yacht."

Alexis gasped to herself.

"Hey, hey, look. It was a stupid accident. He wasn't supposed to be there."

"So you say. But are you really willing to risk spending your life in a correctional facility, away from your children, away from your publishing empire? Your daughter may remember you, should you get paroled, but your son and the child that Alexis is carrying, certainly won't." Stefan smiled as he watched Todd squirm.

"That happened years ago. You can't prove anything."

" There is no statute of limitations concerning murder. Mr. Manning, is that a chance you're willing to take?"

Before Todd could answer, Alexis stepped out from the shadows. Stefan and Todd looked like deer in headlights. "It's a chance he doesn't have to take."

Back on the terrace, Sonny paced as he waited for Alexis' return. He wondered what she had meant or where she had gone. The sound of his cell phone startled him. "Alexis?" He answered hoping to hear her voice on the other end.

"Michael, it's me." Mike's voice was a bit shaky.

Things had been good between he and Mike ever since Mike revealed that he had done the right thing and stood by Courtney, even though she wasn't his daughter. Sonny continued to feel as though Mike was holding something back, but he chalked it up to his own suspicious nature. "What is Pop? Why aren't you here? This is my big night."

"I know, Michael. I wanted to be there. It's just, I'm at the hospital."

Sonny ran his hand across his wrinkled brow. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

"It's no me. It's your...brother. He's been shot."

The weight of Mike's words knocked Sonny against a nearby wall. "My what? I don't have a brother, Mike. In fact, I just found out that I don't have a sister either, remember?"

"Just come to the hospital Michael, before it's too late." With that Mike hung up the phone, leaving Sonny in a total daze. As soon as he was able to focus, he picked up a glass and reached back and readied himself to throw it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, partner." Jax's Aussie accent called out. "If you start destroying property, I'm going to sue you for the cost of replacing it."

"Now's not a good time, Candyboy."

"What is it, Corinthos? Is it Alexis? Is she OK?"

Sonny pulled out a chair that was neatly tucked under a small table and sank in. He was not in a mood to share, but he knew Jax would bug him until he was assured that Alexis was fine. "It's Mike, he's screwed up again."

"Is that all?"

Sonny smiled and shook his head in disgust as he looked at Jax. The golden boy had lived a perfect life with two parents that worshipped the ground he walked on. There was no way he could understand. "Mike's screw-ups usually cost me."

Jax pulled out the chair that sat opposite Sonny. "Since you're the man that resurrected Miranda, my first wife, before my wedding to Brenda, I assume you realize that the only reason I believed her to be dead was because my family lied to me. "

Sonny closed his eyes and leaned back. "I get sick of bailing Mike out of his messes."

"Corinthos, there are two of us sitting at this table. But the ironic thing is that even with all the stuff you've done, I'm the convicted felon. Why? Because I took a plea to keep my father and brother out of prison. And how did my brother repay me? By getting into trouble again. But if he needed me to bail him out; I do it again and gladly."

"You and I are two different people, Jax." Sonny stood and began to walk toward the terrace entrance.

"You're right, Corinthos. You see, I understand that you don't love your family based on who you want them to be, but based on who they really are. Because when it comes down to it they're all you've got. The truth is we all screw up. It's unfair for we imperfect people to demand perfection from everyone else."

Sonny dropped his head and nodded. "If you see Alexis, tell her I'm looking for her." He then turned and walked through the doorway.


	27. Chapter 27

_Hi Everyone. Thanks for the wonderful replies on the last chapter. This is the second to last chapter, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I hope you enjoy it. And yeah, although this story started out as a purely Sexis tale, I sort of fell for Todd, too. Even still, I tried to remember that this story is based on Sonny before the show turned him mean and cruel. And I tried to remember what Sexis meant to each other. I hope you enjoy. - K_

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 27

Alexis could not believe that she'd actually just heard Stefan trying to blackmail Todd into marrying her by using the ghosts of his past. Alexis and Stefan eyed each other intently, waiting to learn who would first break the silence. To their surprise it was Todd.

"Wow, this is one of those weird brother-sister moments where you're about to yell at him for all the stuff he's done wrong. Then he's going to tell you he's sorry even though he's not. Me and my sister, Vicki, do it all the time. So, I guess I don't need to be here for this." Todd prepared to walk away.

"Freeze Todd." Alexis said, without blinking. "I need you here to verify any lies my brother might tell me." Alexis studied Stefan's eyes. There was no coldness, no lack of feeling, just the opposite actually. "Why would you do something like this?" she asked, softly.

Stefan sighed. Clearly, the gig was up. "Because I love you."

Alexis looked on in total disbelief. "The answer is always the same, isn't it? Why did you fake your own death, Stefan? Because you loved me. Why are you forcing a man that doesn't love me to marry me? Because you love me." Alexis turned to leave when she heard Stefan's voice. "If this is what you do because you love me, maybe it's better for me if you don't."

Fire blazed in Stefan's eyes. "How many times do you propose I watch helplessly as you are hurt due to your association with Corinthos? Why do you continue to subject yourself to the dangers of his lifestyle? I suppose Helena's torture hasn't been sufficient. She has wanted you dead since your arrival on this earth. And still, it has been your proximity to Mr. Corinthos that has nearly killed you. A shooting in front of a police station, being held captive by Mr. Sorel, a bomb next door to your home. What more will it take?"

Alexis sighed and turned her back to her brother. "You don't get to choose who I love, Stefan." She wiped a tear that slid down her face. She wasn't certain whether to be touched by her brother's concern or furious with his interference. She turned back to face them both. "Why Todd? He's not exactly a choirboy?"

"Hey!" Todd fussed. Alexis simply glared at him, then waited for Stefan to finish.

"You don't seem to have an appreciation for choirboys, so it seems that orchestrating a union with one would have been fruitless. I do believe Mr. Manning is genuinely fond of you…and you of him. With the information I have concerning his past behavior, I could guarantee that he would never hurt you...and if he did, he stood to lose everything."

Once again, Stefan and Alexis faced each other quietly, only to be interrupted by Todd. "Hey, who wouldn't threaten a guy with prison to keep his sister safe?"

"Do you want a list?" Alexis actually managed a smile. When she saw the tension ease on Stefan's face, she gave him a stern look. "Hey, you're not completely off the hook...but I guess we can talk about this tomorrow."

Stefan nodded before he walked away. He didn't go far. Instead, he stood around a nearby corner and eavesdropped.

Alexis raised an eyebrow at Todd as she thought of ways to begin her tirade. "How...? Why...? Were you actually going to go through with...? You said you wanted to marry me because you needed _my help_ to get custody of Starr and Jack."

"I couldn't exactly raise them in Statesville could I, Alex?" Todd began to pace. "Besides, we get along OK and Starr really loves you. It wouldn't have been that bad."

Alexis placed her hand on Todd's arm and gently stopped his pacing. "But I'm in love with Sonny."

"OK. Whatever." Todd attempted to act as if Alexis' admission was no big deal. He dropped his head a bit as he shrugged her words off.

Alexis extended her hand and placed it over his. "To answer your question, it wouldn't have been horrible. In fact if this was some sort of pageant, you would have been first runner-up." Levity usually brought a smile to Todd's face. Today, it didn't.

"Just what I always wanted: to lose out to Corinthos." Todd attempted to joke. "Of course, as a criminal defense attorney, you know a lot of morally-challenged men. So, I guess second place isn't bad. Besides if this were a pageant it would mean I get the grand prize if Corinthos screws up."

"You'll always be at the top of my list." She pulled him closer to her and placed her other hand on the smooth part of his cheek beneath the scar. "It just wasn't meant to be." She stared into Todd's emerald green eyes, trying to convince him she was right. Eventually, he nodded.

It was at that point that Sonny stumbled upon Stefan, who was still watching Alexis and Todd.

"You spying on someone?"

Sonny's voice caused Stefan to jump a bit, though he didn't lose his composure. "I was attempting to afford my sister a modicum of privacy."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not exactly privacy if you're spying."

Stefan smiled as he saw Alexis and Todd embrace. "I apologize Mr. Corinthos, I misspoke. I didn't want to interrupt my sister and her fiancé during an intimate moment."

Sonny peered around the corner in time to see Alexis kiss Todd softly on the mouth while they embraced. Suddenly, his heart felt as if it had been shattered into a million pieces. He assumed that Alexis wanted to be with him, but perhaps he was wrong. Maybe he had truly lost her. He looked at the smug smile on Stefan's face and decided it would be best if he dealt with the situation later. "You're right." With that he turned and walked away.

The limo ride to the hospital seemed to take an eternity. Though Sonny had asked Johnny to blast the radio, it didn't seem to help drown out any of his thoughts. Mike was in the process of throwing him another curveball. He had a brother that he might never get to know. His best friend was having a child with his ex-wife and they were now raising the boy he'd grown to love as his own son. Alexis, the love of his life, was having a child with another man; it was a child that could have been his if he hadn't wasted precious time with Carly and her game of pretend. Worst of all, he may have lost Alexis for good.

Sonny walked into General Hospital and he remembered he hated hospitals. He hated sickness. The stark white walls, the antiseptic smell, the buzzing, all of it reminded him of the fragility of life. Hospital visits were always unhappy occasions and hospital stays were generally worse. However, a smile crept on his face as he remembered the first time Alexis admitted to caring about him was in the hospital three years earlier. It was after the shoot out at the police station where he'd shielded here with his own body. He remembered thinking that any pain he had gone through was worth it, just to know she was alive. Maybe, he thought, that was when it happened between them.

Sonny approached Mike who stood with his nose pressed very closely to the window of the operating room door. His voice was dry, "Mike...how is he?"

"It doesn't look good. " Mike turned to face Sonny. "He tried to stop a robbery that was in progress."

"Why would he...?" Sonny's face echoed the confusion running through in his mind.

"He's a cop, Michael." Mike moved from the door of the operating room and sat on a nearby sofa.

Sonny walked toward the door, but stooped himself from peeking in. He didn't want to meet his brother that way. Sonny chuckled as he walked to the seat across from Mike, "A cop and a reputed mob boss for sons. Who said God didn't have a sense of humor?"

Mike leaned his head against the wall closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Without opening his eyes, he began to speak. "When you were four, your mother decided that she had enough of my gambling. I think it was after she woke up to find her engagement ring missing."

Sonny wrinkled his forehead as he thought of his mother's hurt. Now was not the time for anger. He had to make himself listen. Sonny rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.

Mike continued. "I was a mess. Florence owned a boarding house in the neighborhood. She gave me a place to stay even though I couldn't pay. We became close. I didn't know why she asked me to leave when she did until Marcus was born several months after your mother took me back."

Names ran through Sonny's mind like track stars. Florence? Marcus? Had his brother grown up in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn? Marcus? Sonny shook his head "no" as the reality crashed over him like falling glass. "It can't be..."

"Yes Michael, your brother is Marcus Taggert."


	28. Chapter 28

_Hi everyone. This is the last chapter (plus an upcoming epilogue). Thank you all so much for reading and for the wonderful replies. _

SUN N.Y. – Chapter 28

After leaving Todd, Alexis spent the next fifteen minutes trying to find Sonny. She ran into Jax just as Mike called from the hospital with the news that Taggert had been shot. Jax volunteered to drive her and they departed immediately. At the hospital she knew where she'd find Sonny: the chapel. She sat quietly beside him.

His voice was barely a whisper as he spoke. "So, I guess you've heard: Taggert is my brother."

Slipping her hand into his, she remained quiet.

"I don't know how I'm going to get past everything with Mike…or Taggert."

Seeing the worry on his face made her want to hold him until she made it better; instead, she kissed his cheek. "It will make for an interesting Thanksgiving."

He laughed. She could always make him laugh, even during the worst times. Turning his body to face her, he took a deep breath. "I hope I can count on you to be there, holding my hand through it."

"Sonny," she paused, "I really need to tell you something first."

He dropped his head. "You chose Manning." His hand slid over his forehead then down over the rest of his face. "Don't do it because of your baby, Alexis. I don't care that it's Manning's. I'll love the baby because he or she is a part of you. I'll even find a way to get along with Manning." He thought of Starr before he added, "I'll get along with both Mannings."

Alexis shifted uncomfortably, "I'm not back with Todd. I told him tonight that I wasn't going to pretend to be engaged to him anymore…because I'm in love with you."

Sonny smiled as he felt the thousand pound weight he'd been carrying for the last several months ease from his shoulders. He caught his breath. Apparently, God was listening to his prayers, which meant maybe Taggert might be okay and maybe, just maybe they could learn to be civil with one another. "Manning was okay with this?"

"Todd's not actually a bad guy. I've always been honest with him about how I felt about you. In fact, I've been honest with _him_ about everything." She looked deeply into his eyes. "Sonny, there's something I have to tell you about the baby."

"Is the baby okay?" Alarm quickly spread over his face.

"The baby is fine. I think, at least I feel like it's a girl. I've been waiting to find out until…" her voice dropped off. She took a deep breath before she began again. "Sonny, I've wanted to tell you this for a long time, but I haven't known how: the baby isn't Todd's; it's yours. I found I was pregnant before anything ever happened with Todd."

The words blurred in Sonny's mind as he processed what Alexis told him. "Mine?"

"Yes, we're going to have a baby. I know you're probably furious, but I hope you can forgive me because all I want is for us to be okay."

_He was going to be a father_. As much as Sonny wanted to be furious about the months he'd gone without knowing the baby was his, he couldn't. After Carly's betrayal, he knew he was being given a second chance. He couldn't even be angry with Manning. If it weren't for Todd, Carly would still be living with him and she'd still probably be trying to pass off Jason's baby as his own. Now, he'd just learned that Alexis was having _his_ baby.

"Aren't you going to say something?"

Before Sonny could speak, Mike entered the chapel. "Michael, the doctor has news about Marcus."

Alexis looked at Sonny. She swatted at a few errant tears that had fallen. Sonny looked as though he was being pulled in five different directions. After all their months apart and the Taggert drama, she had no desire to be a source of stress to him. "Sonny go. Go be with your family."

He stood up from the pew where they'd been sitting together; Alexis remained seated. He extended his hand, "Alexis, aren't you coming? The only way I can be with my family is if you're with me."

Outside of Taggert's hospital room, Alexis held Sonny's hand as he, Taggert's Mom, Florence, and Mike listened to Taggert's prognosis. Apparently, the bullet had just missed his kidney and the surgery to remove it was successful. After some rest, he would be okay. Gia and Nikolas were out of town when the news broke. They arrived just as the doctor finished relaying the good news. A few minutes later, Mike, Nikolas and Taggert's mother and sister disappeared into waiting room. Sonny suspected they were breaking the news of Taggert's parentage. That was a conversation he was more than happy to miss.

"We should get you home so you can rest." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "I think you and the baby have had enough excitement for tonight."

"That's it? You're not going to give me a speech about how I've betrayed you?"

Sonny thought for a moment. "I can be mad or I can enjoy having everything I want for once in my life."

"This really is unlike you." Alexis continued to look at him quizzically.

"Someone recently told me that because I'm not perfect, it's unfair for me to expect perfection from anyone else. Actually, given my line of work, it's ridiculous for me to expect perfection from anyone else. As much as it pains me to admit it, he was right."

"Who told you that?"

As he heard Candyboy's voice in his head, he chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He placed his hand on her stomach. "I can't wait to spoil you rotten…both of you."

Sonny kept his word. Back at his Penthouse, Sonny made Alexis an extraordinary meal that consisted of all her favorite foods, which were a mixture of Greek and Russian cuisines: chicken kiev and a cold soup called, botvinya. For desert he made karidopida, a walnut cake.

"Sonny," Alexis gasped. "How did you know how to make all this? How did you know these were my favorites?"

"You once told me a story about a big Christmas dinner your mom made for you. So, I did a little research and found a couple of recipes."

Leaning toward his side of the table, she whispered, "I love you."

"Good because you and this baby are my life." He kissed her. "I love you both."

Sometime after dinner, Alexis fell asleep on the sofa. When she awakened, she found a note from Sonny in which he indicated he was headed back to the hospital to be with Mike. After a few minutes, she decided to go across the hall to check on Starr and Todd. When she opened the door, she heard Kristina's voice.

"Todd, you and Starr really don't need to leave in the middle of the night. At least wait until Alexis comes home."

Alexis wrinkled her nose. For a moment, she felt the panic set in. "You're leaving? Now? Why?"

"I don't like long goodbyes Alex. Besides, Blair was so angry when I told her I didn't want to get back on the crazy train with her she's probably suing me for full custody in the morning."

Alexis felt her heart drop. She'd promised Todd she'd help him. "Todd, if you come across the hall with me, we'll get started on a petition for custody right away. I know Sonny won't like it, but he'll understand that I promised to help you."

"Don't worry, Alex. I already hired an attorney and Delgado's as good as you. That's why I gotta head back tonight." He marched to the steps and hollered, "Shortie, hurry up and get down here and say goodbye to Moonbeam and your almost stepmother."

Starr marched angrily down the stairs, which reminded Alexis of one their earlier encounters. She felt herself get choked up. Once at the bottom of the stairs, Starr flung body against Alexis's and held her tightly. "I'm going to miss you so much, Alex."

Alexis lost her battle with the waterworks. "Me too, Little One." She called Starr by the name she once reserved only for the baby she carried. She did it because the truth was Starr felt like she was her own. "You can come visit me any time."

Starr released her hold on Alexis and then bid "Aunt Moonbeam" goodbye.

Todd walked to Alexis then patted her on the shoulder. "Later, Alex." As he walked to the door, Alexis's voice demanded, "Freeze Manning."

Her voice softened as she came closer to him. "There is no way I'm letting you walk out of my life without a hug." Obediently, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly. "You better keep in touch."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Alex." He wiped at a tear that crept from the corner of his eye. "Hey, tell that slumlord, Corinthos to get you a maid. I think I'm having an allergic reaction to the dust in here."

"I'll miss you, too." Alexis smiled.

As he left, Todd called out, "Later Moonbeam."

Kristina and Alexis plopped on the sofa. Kristina combed her fingers through Alexis's hair. "You know, I'm actually going to miss them."

"Yeah," Alexis said, sadly as she thought of exactly how much she'd miss them. "Me too."


	29. Chapter 29

_Hi all. I promised you an epilogue and here it is. Thanks so much for reading and responding. I really appreciate it._

SUN N.Y. – Epilogue

_One year later_

Alexis hoisted her daughter, Alison, in the air. She was the spitting image of her father, with her dark hair, long dark lashes and dimpled smile. Still, Sonny swore Alison had her eyes and thankfully for both of them, they were relieved to find the baby had her demeanor. She kissed the baby's belly, which made Alison giggle uncontrollably. Moments later, she heard a knock on the door. Johnny, Sonny's faithful guard, announced the arrival of her sister.

In her usual fashion, Kristina swooped in and grabbed Alison with one arm and shoved something at Alexis with the other. It was then that she noticed Kristina brought her a copy of SUN N.Y., which was folded in half.

Alexis opened the paper to find a headline that took up a quarter of the page and read: Mr. and Mrs. Todd Manning. Below was a picture of Todd and a gorgeous brunette named Tea. She smiled as she realized that this woman must be Tea Delgado whom Todd had mentioned once or twice before.

"Alexis, are you okay?" Kristina stroked her hair as she watched her face for a betrayal of any emotion.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful baby girl, both of whom I love very much." And she did. Sure they had their arguments, which either ended very loudly or very passionately…or sometimes when they were lucky their arguments ended both loudly and passionately. But, if Alexis were honest with herself, she'd have to admit she liked the idea that there was someone for whom she cared deeply waiting to love her if things didn't work out with Sonny.

"I know how much you cared for Todd…and Starr."

"I do care about them very much, but I'm fine."

"Where's Sonny?"

"At the warehouse." The warehouse was where Sonny went to conduct business. Early on she decided Sonny would not conduct mob business in their home or in front of their daughter. She'd made it a condition of their marriage and after two threatened separations Sonny finally got the message that she was serious. "He should be home soon."

The_ business _was one of the only things that caused her concern about their marriage. And yet, somehow she'd been comforted by the knowledge that Sonny had the force of the _business _behind him, particularly after Helena arrived in town and began making threats when she learned Alexis was pregnant. Helena disappeared shortly after learning their baby was a girl.

Alexis's cell phone rang. "Alexis Davis," she answered. The voice on the other end made her smile. "Hey Alex…did you get the paper?"

"Yes, Todd…and it seems congratulations are in order."

"I didn't even have to blackmail Delgado to get her to say, "yes.""

Alexis chuckled to herself. "Now, there's a step in the right direction." She watched as Kristina took the baby and disappeared next door. "I guess this means I better make things work with Sonny, huh?"

"What are you kidding me, Alex? Mob boy will shoot any man that tries to get near you. Besides, even if it doesn't work out, I'll probably screw things up with Delgado before Christmas. "

"Ever the optimist." She smiled widely. Never in a million years would she have guessed that Todd Manning would occupy a small part of her heart. "How is Starr liking her new stepmother?"

"New stepmother? Delagado's her old stepmother. You were supposed to be her new stepmother until you fell for the godfather. Besides, she's known Delgado since she was a baby. " He paused, then added softly, "She is kinda bummed that she won't be a part of the royal Cassadine family with you, Moonbeam and Count Drabula."

Alexis laughed until her stomach hurt. "Tell Starr that Kristina and I miss her, too."

A comfortable silence washed over their conversation. Todd was the first to speak.

"You happy, Alex?"

Alexis thought about her life. Stefan and Sonny were coexisting, thanks in large part to Alison and to Kristina's amazing peacemaking skills. Sonny, Stefan and Nikolas were engaged in a daily competition to see who could spoil Alison the most…and they all lost out to Kristina. And for the first time in her life, she was crazy in love. "Yeah Todd, I'm happy."

"Great. Hey, do me a favor. If the Don get's arrested or ever decides to talk about the art of cement shoe making, promise he'll give me an exclusive."

"Very funny, Manning. If you're done disparaging my husband, I'll be going."

"Husband? Ack, I hate that word."

"You'd better get used to it, since you are one now."

"Whatever…Take care of yourself, Alexis."

Her emotions rose from her heart and got caught in her throat. "You too, Todd." As she ended the call, an errant tear skated down her cheek. When she noticed the doorknob turning, she quickly wiped it away and discretely slipped the newspaper into her briefcase, which was always near the door in case of emergency.

"'Lexis, you home?" Sonny strolled through the door.

"Hi," she turned to face him.

He ran his eyes over her. "You okay?"

"Of course I am now that you're home."

"Good answer." He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the mouth. "Where's my daughter?"

"_Our _daughter is with her aunt." She ran her hands through his hair freeing a few curls in the process. "Which means…"

"We're alone." He placed a kiss near her earlobe.

"Have I told you how much I enjoy being married to you?" She locked eyes with her husband.

"In about five minutes, I can help you enjoy it more." He chuckled.

"Sonny!!!" She socked him in the arm.

"Thanks…you know…for being with me after I almost blew it." It was then that she realized that he'd probably seen the cover of SUN N.Y. and knew that she could be on the cover with Todd instead of Tea.

"Sonny Corinthos, I wouldn't change a thing." When she thought about Todd and Starr, Alison, and the nightclub Sonny built which now forced him and Jax to work together and coexist, she meant it.


End file.
